Winter Knight
by valathe
Summary: Slightly AU medieval Europe - non-incest Elsanna\\Despite her short reign, Queen Anna II. of Arendelle has already achieved much. There are storms gathering on the horizon, however, and it is not clear whether the arrival of the mysterious 'Winter Knight' will help stave off disaster, or bring it about even faster\\Rated M for violence, language, lemons, and major character death
1. Tournament

"Your Majesty? It is time."

Anna groaned as the voice of her chamberlain pierced the thick silence.

"Thank you, Kai." she muttered as she pushed herself out of her seat. She knew she couldn't avoid attending the solstice tournament. In her younger years she had loved watching it, admiring the skilled knights as they jousted and dueled. But it had always been with her parents. Even now, nine years after their passing, she still felt sadness every time she thought of them. And to make matters worse, she was suffering from a massive headache. _Just doing my duty as a queen._ she thought.

She made the trek to the wooden bleachers accompanied by Kai and a detachment of guards, in addition to two members of her ever present queensguard. Even though she was well-loved by her people, it never hurt to be cautious. A lesson her father had taught her early on.

When they neared their destination, and the roar of hundreds of people waiting for the tournament to start began to drown out her thoughts, Kai hurried ahead to the royal pavilion to announce the monarch. The crowd fell silent at his appearance beneath the heavy cloth canopy.

"People of Arendelle, valued guests and competitors, behold her Majesty Queen Anna II. of Arendelle and the Southern Isles, duchess of Finnmark, conqueror of the South and protector of the realm!"

There was a deafening cry of 'God save the queen!' and 'All hail Queen Anna!' leaving hundreds of throats as Anna appeared beside Kai. Purple crocuses were thrown down the bleachers into the sand of the arena, soon to be hosting the first tilts of the day. Despite everything, Anna enjoyed those moments. She liked to believe that at least some of the cheers she received stemmed from genuine admiration, not just a sense of duty and obligation.

With a single wave of her hand she silenced the masses. "Thank you, my beloved people." she said, her clear voice carrying far and wide in the silence. "It is my great joy and honor to host this year's summer solstice tournament on the palace grounds on such a fine day. I am sure all of you are quite as eager as me to see the best of the best prove themselves in the tilts and the mêlée, so without further ado, let the games begin!"

As the crowd roared and cheered again she gracefully sat down in her padded chair, not failing to notice the scowl on Kai's face. He was never too pleased when Anna eschewed the royal plural, especially when addressing the common people and foreign dignitaries, but she disliked using it. It always felt preposterous and boastful to her. She was still human, after all. Sending her chamberlain a teasing smile, she took a goblet proffered by a servant and took a sip of iced wine, hoping she wouldn't have to overindulge in it to cool herself down. All signs hinted at it becoming a very hot day.

The first competitors entered the arena on their horses, clad in shimmering armor and holding obscenely long lances. "Ser Haakon the Bold of house Falkenskiold, riding against Ser Erich of house Wittelsbach!" the master of ceremony announced, pointing to the respective knights.

"I do hope Ser Haakon goes easy on that whelp." a thin voice announced next to her, "I've wagered quite the sum on him and we wouldn't want him to tire himself out this early, now, would we?"

Anna suppressed a groan as she turned to see the man who had spoken. "Duke Weselton, what an _unexpected_ pleasure!"

The tiny man bowed deeply. "Your Majesty. It is an honor to spend the tourney in the royal pavilion."

Anna rolled her eyes while his head was still almost touching the ground.

"Rise, duke. There's no need to be so strict on protocol today. It's a celebration, after all."

He straightened himself and smiled, or at least tried to smile. The grimace almost made Anna chortle.

"Thank you, your Majesty. It is always a pleasure to be in your fair company."

"I assume things are well in the duchy if you, of all people, gamble on the outcome of the joust."

If he registered the jab he hid it well. Anna's dislike for the greedy man was well-known, but it didn't keep him from sauntering up close to her every chance he got, always with another scheme in mind to enhance his riches at the expense of another's.

"Quite so, your Majesty. The harvests look very promising, and silver is always in high demand."

He was, of course, referring to the rich silver mines on his land, something that Arendelle lacked completely, and the duke never tired of reminding her of how a great deal of the kingdom's economy depended on his resources. _That has to change, sooner rather than later._ Anna thought. _If only there were a pretense to just annex the duchy and be done with it. And rid the world of this old geezer in the process._

She simply nodded and let her gaze wander around the pavilion, dismissal clear in her attitude. The duke backed away and fell into a quiet conversation with one of the barons present. Unwilling to be surprised by yet another less-than-welcome nobleman, she took her time to assess what persons of note were present. Her advisers were seated a few rows below her, along with Lord Marshal Henrik Rosenvinge, the head of her armed forces. It was thanks to him that she was even sitting here, with her head still on her shoulders.

Just a few short weeks after her coronation, the realm had been attacked by the Southern Isles. It was a centuries-old rivalry between the two kingdoms that had finally come to a head when King Phillip saw his chance at subduing Arendelle when a young, inexperienced monarch took to the throne, a woman no less. It was the heroic effort and brilliant strategies of then just General Henrik that had thrown back the invaders, and he even convinced her to take the war that the southerners had started to them, conquering the kingdom and thoroughly humiliating the warmongering Phillip when she forced him to swear fealty to her as a _loyal_ vassal.

Henrik had been named Lord Marshal as a reward for his exceptional service, something that caused quite the commotion among the nobles as he was just the son of a lowly Baron with no holdings worth mentioning. He proved himself more than deserving of the title just five years later, however, when the Southern Isles revolted and attempted to overthrow Arendellian rule. Phillip was killed in the fighting, and, in a twist of irony, Anna used the same pretext of distant familial relations Phillip had used five years befeore, to let herself be crowned Queen of the Souhern Isles and ruling both countries in a personal union. The surviving members of the southron royal family had been offered the choice of exile or life-long house arrest, and Philip's youngest son, Gustav, taken hostage. He was also present today, sitting by his own and observing the tournament. Despite him being nothing more than an insurance against future uprisings, Anna had built a strong relationship with him and considered him one of her closest friends. She even contemplated marrying him to further solidify her rule over the south, but she had no delusions that it would be anything more than a political marriage. She did like him, but love was something different entirely.

Looking around further, she spotted many decorated knights that had become too old to fight in the lists, as well as several foreign dignitaries, the most important being ambassador Count Abensberg-Traun of the Austrian Empire. Anna was in the final stages of sealing a trade agreement with the Hapsburgs that would massively boost Arendelle's economy, with the added bonus that they would be far less dependent on Weselton's silver. It would upset their relations with the French, who were close allies, but Anna was confident that, given time, she would be able to smooth things over.

As if he had felt her eyes resting on him, the man turned around and smiled at the queen. He slowly made his way to her and bowed deeply. "Your Majesty, it is an honor to be invited for this special day." he said with a deep timbre that emphasized his german accent even more.

"Please, ambassador, there is no need to be so formal today." Anna replied. "And I am quite pleased to be able to show our very best to you. Is the joust as popular in Vienna as it is here in Arendal?"

He turned around just in time to see a competitor being unhorsed by his opponent, to roaring applause of the crowd.

"Not quite," he admitted, "but I'm very fond of the sport, personally. I always revel in any opportunity to observe such skill and strength."

Anna sent him a genuine smile and engaged in a lively conversation about his homeland, eager to learn as much news possible about the state of the Hapsburg Monarchy, and the Holy Roman Empire in general. She thoroughly lost track of time and was surprised when she was interrupted by the bellowing voice of the master of ceremony. "Now for the final tilt! Ser Haakon the Bold rides against Ser Fredrik the Cunning in the final bid for the honor and trophy of being Champion of the Lists!"

A cheer went through the crowd, dulled by hisses and booing at the mention of Ser Fredric's name. He was a skilled fighter and rider, but had a reputation for using dirty tricks to his advantage that, while not forbidden, were frowned upon.

The first tilt began, and Anna could immediately tell that something was off. Haakon's destrier was behaving strangely, prancing nervously and hardly paying attention to his rider's commands. Despite the handicap, Haakon managed to land a blow against Fredrik, shattering his lance and thus scoring a point. Then, on the second round, the unthinkable happened: both knights were flying across the field towards each other, and just as their lances were about to connect Haakon's horse reared, throwing off the rider while being hit on the exposed belly by Fredrik's lance, impaling it in the process. The crowd gasped and Anna shot to her feet at the display, the silence only interrupted by the sickening whines of the dying animal. Haakon stood up and ripped off his helmet, revealing thick blonde hair and an expression that screamed bloody murder. He bellowed to his squire, who quickly came running, holding Haakon's sword. He ripped it out of its scabbard and strode across the field towards Fredrik, who was currently celebrating with his squire and unaware of his opponent's approach.

"You bloody cheat!" he screamed when he reached the knight. "Draw your sword and face me like a real knight, you dishonorable scum!"

The situation was about to escalate when Anna's voice sounded above the commotion. "That's enough!" she yelled. "Stand before us, both of you!"

The knights sullenly went over to stand before the royal pavilion, heads lowered to avoid the queen's furious gaze.

"You are both anointed knights, sworn to uphold the law and protect the innocent, and yet here you are squabbling like petty children!"

Haakon raised his head, mouth already open in retort, when Anna cut him off. "Silence! You better think long and hard about what you are going to say to your queen's face, sers."

That reminder shut them both up thoroughly.

"I realize that Ser Fredrik has chosen a mare in heat as his tourney horse, which served amicably to distract his competitor's destrier and increase his chances of success."

"Your Majesty, I would never..." the knight in question started to say, but was interrupted by Anna. "Save it, _ser_." She almost spat out the last word. "You were well aware of that fact when you chose your mount, don't you dare deny it!" He lowered his head in defeat.

"Since there is no specific rule against this behavior, Ser Fredrik is the winner of this years joust by means of unhorsing his opponent, Ser Haakon, and receives the champion's purse of ten thousand kroners."

Haakon once again opened his moth to protest, but Anna simply continued talking. "But, seeing as his actions deliberately undermined the spirit of chivalry celebrated in this festival, he will not be named Champion of the Lists, and he will donate the entirety of his winnings today to an orphanage in the royal city!"

Haakon gave a huff of appreciation as Fredrik's face contorted in range. "Your Majesty! That's not fair!"

"It is just as fair as deliberately riding a mare in heat for the jousts, good ser." she said with smug satisfaction. "Now be off, if I recall correctly you both entered the lists for the mêlée as well. You better perform well, Ser Fredrik. For the sake of the poor orphans."

She turned around and returned to her chair, sitting down with as much dignity as she could muster. Just past noon, and already this ugly charade had soured her mood. She picked a few grapes off a tablet set down by a servant while she observed workers dismantling the railing for the joust, preparing the arena for the mêlée. This was to be a messy affair. Dozens, sometimes close to a hundred, combatants would enter an arena and fight with blunted weapons until only one was left standing. A large mêlée could take several hours, and despite the precautions, serious injuries and even death were a distinct possibility for every participant.

This year, luckily, featured a smaller list of competitors. Only about thirty knights had entered into the lists, since the joust was more prestigious and endowed with a higher prize money. However, many lesser known and poorer knights saw the mêlée as their opportunity to gain fame and fortune, and maybe even prove their skill enough to find employment in some lord's retinue.

As was customary, there were a few mystery fighters. One could expect to find a lord or prince entering the lists with an alias, to prevent others from forfeiting when they met a noble on the field; or lowly hedge knights with a sinister reputation that wanted to avoid being deliberately picked off early on. This year there were only two combatants who didn't make their names known, one being the Red Rider of Hollow Hill, an enormous man clad in a red-tinted armor, his coat of arms displaying a white eagle on red ground, associated with the extinct Salian dynasty. The other called himself the Winter Knight, the smallest of all the fighters in the mêlée. He had donned a banged-up suit of unadorned steel armor that had clearly seen much use over the years, the only embellishment being an intricate snowflake chiseled into the shoulder and breast plates.

The mêlée began, and quickly descended into inevitable chaos and confusion. After just an hour, more than half of the participants were already defeated, captured by opponents to be held for ransom. Both the red rider and the winter knight managed to subdue several notable knights, among them Ser Haakon and Ser Fredrik, who were both quite exhausted from the jousting earlier. Soon, the only fighters remaining were the two mystery combatants, and their skirmish had everyone on the bleachers, including the queen, on the edge of their seats.

Where the red rider was a creature of brute strength, swinging his mace with as much force as possible, the winter knight used speed and dexterity to evade the blows, only rarely using his sword to block. At first the nobles in the royal pavilion scoffed at the defensive and evasive style of the winter knight, but soon it became apparent that he was trying to tire out the mountain of a man that opposed him. His swings were already becoming slower, the movements muddled, and suddenly the small knight lashed out when he saw an opening, delivering a savage blow to the helmet of the red rider, who toppled down. Lying on the ground, the winter knight raised the tip of his longsword to the edge of his opponent's helmet, pushing into the chainmail covering his throat.

"Yield." was the only word he said, with a metallic distortion through the slits in his helmet.

"I yield, I yield." the red rider growled, panting from exertion. The crowd cheered and roared, applauding the nameless knight for a fight nobody would soon forget. He lowered his sword and stuck out his other hand, helping the red rider get back to his feet. They both walked towards the royal pavilion, the defeated knight supported by the very man who bested him. He removed his helmet and revealed himself to be none other than Prince-Elector Heinrich IV., ruler of Corona, Arendelle's closest ally in the Holy Roman Empire. The winter knight, still not uttering a single word, kept his helmet on and stared at the queen.

"It was a good fight!" Heinrich bellowed, slapping the smaller man on the back. "Remove your helm, ser, so I might see your face and reward you for your skill and bravery."

Hesitantly, the knight moved his hands towards his head, undoing the straps and pulling off his helmet. A single, platinum braid fell down across the back as the cheers and hoots died down. The silence was deafening, until Duke Weselton uttered "A woman." Raising his voice, he continued. "A woman! How dare she! Guards, seize her!"

Nobody moved a finger, instead all heads turned towards the queen.

"And why should they do that?" she said, in a cutting tone.

The duke turned to her, disbelief in his eyes. "Bu-but your Majesty! A woman! Fighting in the mêlée?!"

"What are you insinuating, duke? She has committed no crime, women aren't barred from entering the lists."

"She...she posed as a knight! There are no female knights!"

The duke had a point, pretending to be a knight was a serious crime punishable with several years of incarceration.

"Step forward, ser." Anna said, ignoring the sharp inhale of breath by the duke upon her use of the title. "What is your name?"

"I am Ser Elsa of Arendelle, formally anointed into knighthood by Ser Lothar of house Gyldenløve five summers ago, after being his squire for several years." she said, eyes never straying from the queen's face.

"Preposterous!" the duke screeched. "Ser Lothar was a respected knight, he would never have stooped so low as to accept a _woman_ as his squire!"

Elsa turned to look at the duke, shooting daggers with her glare. "Watch your mouth, duke, if you value the teeth currently residing within it. I will _not_ have you insult the man who took me in when the world had abandoned me!" she growled.

"How dare you threaten me, wench?!" the duke cried, eyes wide. "Guards, seize her at once!"

Elsa was in the process of removing her gauntlet, no doubt to challenge the duke to a duel, when Anna's patience had run out.

"Enough!" she roared."You only speak when spoken to, duke, or you will be forcibly removed from the premises. Have we made ourselves clear?" she hissed. With a satisfied smirk she saw all color leave his face. The queen using the royal plural was a sure sign of something ugly about to happen.

Turning to Elsa, she spoke up again. "Despite my...misgivings about the duke's choice of words, he raises a valid point. Feigning knighthood is a serious offense. Do you have any proof to back your claim, Ser Elsa?"

She returned her gaze to the queen, eyes softening. "I have documents written and signed by Ser Lothar himself, proving my status."

"It is quite enough for me, ser" Anna replied. "Your skill and courage have impressed me. In addition to the champion's purse of three thousand kroners, I shall grant you a boon. Name it, and if it is within my power, it shall be yours."

Elsa fell to her knee, resting her hands on the crossguard of her longsword, head low. "Your Majesty, my only wish is to find employment in your royal queensguard, to fight your enemies in your name and to protect your life with my own."

A collective gasp went through the nobles and the common spectators alike. A woman in arms, fighting battles was, while quite uncommon, not entirely unheard of. But a woman in the royal guard? Anna herself was taken aback by the bold request. She contemplated the implications of letting this knight join her royal guard. It was well within her power to do so, and she had given her word as queen. On the other hand, she was a complete stranger, with unclear motives and allegiance. For now, she decided, she would grant her wish, but keep her under close supervision.

"Done!" she said, loud and clear. A servant scurried towards Anna, handing her a heavy purple and green cloak. She stepped down from the pavilion into the arena, and fastened it on Elsa's armor herself. "Rise, Ser Elsa the Swift, Queensguard of Arendelle!" She noticed the small smile that crept across the woman's features as she added the new title. Elsa slowly got back on both her feet, head still bowed.

"Thank you, your Majesty." she mumbled, almost impossible to hear over the deafening cheer of the crowd.

"It is my pleasure, ser. Now, you must be weary from the fighting. My chamberlain will show you to your quarters in the guard's tower. If you aren't too tired, you are of course welcome at the royal dinner tonight."

The new queensguard was fidgeting with her hands nervously. "I'm afraid I don't have the proper attire for such an event, your Majesty." she said shyly.

"Nonsense!" the queen replied with a chuckle. "As queensguard you will have the best finery! A seamstress will see to it right away. In the meantime, I'm sure we can find something suitable."

"I can't begin to express my gratitude, your Majesty." Elsa said, a light blush creeping onto her cheeks.

"You will have ample opportunity to do so in my service, Ser Elsa." Anna said. Turning away, she motioned for Kai to approach. "Kai! See to it that Ser Elsa has a room of her own in the guard's tower, and send a seamstress to her chambers at her earliest convenience. We will also need to find a fine garb so she can attend the dinner tonight."

"At once, your Majesty!" Kai said, bowing. "If you would follow me, Ser." They walked off, Kai leading Elsa towards the main entrance of the castle.

When Anna returned to her seat, the Lord Marshal walked over and leaned in to her. "Duke Weselton was less than pleased with how the events unfolded. He stormed off muttering things I better not reproduce." he whispered

Anna sighed. "He'll cool down eventually. Although his fits are really starting to test my patience. We should look for a more _permanent_ solution to this problem. Have the council assemble before the reception tonight."

"I'll see to it, your Majesty." he bowed and turned to walk away when she raised her voice again.

"Henrik? Thank you. For...everything you've done."

"Don't mention it, little one" he whispered with a smirk before walking away.

* * *

After Kai had left her alone, Elsa stood in wonder in her room. Her _own_ room! Never would she have even dreamed of this when she awoke today. She didn't even dare to move, afraid that at any moment someone would barge through their door and announce that the queen had thought better of it, and kicked her out. She visibly flinched when, as if on command, there was a knock on the door.

"Enter!" she said with a shaky voice.

The door opened and a serving girl appeared with a curtsy. "The bath you have requested is ready, milady." she said timidly.

Elsa chuckled. "I'm not a Lady, just a knight. Let me get out of my armor."

With trained precision she undid the straps and buckles, gingerly setting each piece on the bed. After every piece of plate had been removed, she discarded her chainmail gorget and arming doublet, standing only in a sort, slightly grimy undertunic, and padded breeches.

"Please follow me, ser."

Elsa went after the girl who led her down a few corridors until they arrived in front of an unassuming wooden door. The servant stepped in and pointed out the filled tub among several empty ones in the bathing chamber.

"I'll just be outside the door, should you require anything, ser."

Elsa quickly thanked the girl and waited until she had shut the door before quickly discarding her shirt and trousers and gingerly lowered herself into the scalding-hot water.

Relief washed over her, all the weeks of anxiety and doubt about participating in the tournament simply melting away. Sitting still, she realized how tense she was, and also started to feel a few bruises that would look very nasty come morning. Despite winning the mêlée, she hat been hit several times.

After relaxing for a while, she thoroughly scrubbed herself from head to toe, removing the dirt and grime from weeks spent on the road without an opportunity to bathe. To her delight she even found a bottle of lotion and started lathering it in her hair. It smelled of something that was oddly familiar, but she had trouble putting a name to it. Regardless, she enjoyed the scent and wallowed in the absolute luxury of having a real-life hot bath.

It was so relaxing that she actually started to doze off, only to be rudely jerked back into reality when a knock came from the door. "Ser, the feast is set to begin within the hour."

"Just a moment!" Elsa yelled, quickly stepping out of the now cold water and toweling herself down. After putting her clothes back on she opened the door and smiled sheepishly at the girl. Wordlessly she followed after her, trying to remember the way that lead back to her room.

Kai was waiting for her outside the door. "Ah, Ser Elsa, it is good to see you again." he said with a smile. "I have several sets of fine garments laid out on your bed. I hope you find them to your liking."

"Thank you" Elsa said, quietly.

"If you need anything, just flag down a servant in the corridor. Good day, ser." he said, ushering her into her room and closing the door from the outside.

Elsa carefully inspected the clothes provided for her. She scoffed when she saw that most of them were dresses. After a while of searching, however, she found a loose-fitting, high-collared dark-red doublet, accompanied by matching dark pants. Not exactly her colors, but she was sure to turn a few heads with her choice of attire.

With a sigh she noticed the thick layer of mud on her boots. She fingered a rigid brush out of her pouch and started cleaning them.

* * *

"Thank you all for convening on such short notice, councilmen." Anna said, looking at each of the four men sitting at the round table. "I am well aware that we all have to get ready for the reception, so I'll try to keep this as short as possible."

After the appreciative nods and murmurs had died down, she continued. "I'm sure all of you have noticed the little...drama, caused by our very good friend, the Duke Weselton. Frankly, I'm more than tired of his antics and constant threats to increase tariffs, or cease trade altogether, if even the tiniest thing about us displeases him. Any suggestions?"

Henrik was the first to speak up. "From a military perspective, we should have little problem subduing the duchy. Weselton is diplomatically isolated, and several foreign nations already think of them as a part of us, because we're their only major trade partner and the only other land border they share is with the Swedish, who are diplomatically isolated due to their ambitions in the Baltic. That said, I think an invasion at this point would be ill-advised. Even if we found a believable reason to justify such an act, some larger nations are still not over us forcing the Southern Isles into vassalage. They're afraid we'll become too powerful, and the English are just looking for an excuse to declare war. Aside from the Spanish we're the only power that could pose a threat to their navy, and combined with our alliance with France they don't like that one bit."

The queen sighed. "You're probably right, as always. Thank you, Henrik. Any other ideas? What about his son, what do we know about him?"

Lord Pippin, her spymaster, spoke. "Unfortunately, very little. He lives a _very_ secluded live inside the castle walls, never interacting with anybody unless it can absolutely not be avoided. If my agents wouldn't see him every now and again at official functions, I would have believed him dead for several years. It's impossible to discern his disposition towards us, should something _unfortunate_ happen to his father."

Anna slammed her fist on the table. "There's got to be _something_ we can do! I won't suffer being taunted and ridiculed by this sad excuse for a duke in my own palace, damn it!"

Lord Asger took this as his cue to raise his voice. "Your Majesty, the duke's son is still unwed. I think it prudent to pursue this avenue of thought before we consider such heinous things as assassination or all-out war!"

"Are you suggesting I wed the duke's son, Lord Asger?" Anna hissed through clenched teeth.

His face went white. "O-Of course not, your Majesty! That would be a terrible waste, I was rather thinking of several duchies within our realm that have suitable women. We could..."

Anna cut him off with a snarl. "Thank you for your input, Lord Asger, but we will _not_ discuss marrying off women like trading a commodity. Don't make me regret appointing you as head of the corps diplomatique."

"I-yes, your Majesty. Thank you, your Majesty." Had he bowed any deeper in his chair, his head would have fused with the table.

"I would like to remind everybody of the fact that we are still very dependent on the silver shipments from the duchy of Weselton." Lord Alfred, the master of the Mint, said. "In the long term it would definitely be advantageous if we...stabilize our relations with Weselton in whatever way, but we should make sure to take short-term fluctuations into account if we choose a more aggressive course of action. Even if the trade agreement with the Austrians comes into fruition."

"Thank you, Lord Alfred." Anna said. "We'll be sure to take the economical factors into consideration."

A brooding silence descended upon the room. Nobody seemed to have any good ideas, so Anna dismissed them until the evening.

"Henrik, Lord Pippin, please stay." Anna said as the other two left the room.

They remained in their seats, with a questioning look. When the doors were shut again, she spoke up. "You're both aware of the newest addition to my queensguard. Henrik, since Knight-Commander Petter has not yet returned from his mission, you will introduce her to the rest of the queensguard on the morrow. I'm sure they'll give her an impression of what she can expect. Tell her she has free run of the palace until Petter returns to conduct her formal induction into the force. I want you to keep a close eye on her.

"Lord Pippin, you will compile a thorough dossier about her past, and validate her claims about being Ser Lothar's squire. I don't think she lied about that, but we better make sure. I want that dossier by the end of this week. That is all. Thank you for your time, gentlemen. I'll see you in a few hours."

* * *

Elsa was right about her outfit turning heads. Several nobles stuck their heads together and whispered after spotting her, and she even caught a few women giving her jealous looks. The doublet was actually much tighter-fitting around the chest than she had anticipated, but it came as no real surprise as it was obviously cut for a male wearer. She sheepishly lounged around a corner by herself, afraid of embarrassing herself if she mingled with the nobles and dignitaries. She had, of course, received basic etiquette lessons while being a squire, and was quite sure that she wouldn't make a complete fool of herself while sitting at the table, but actually talking to so many high-borns was a different matter altogether.

She was soon spotted by Prince-Elector Heinrich, however, who promptly marched up to her. "Ser Elsa!" he almost hollered, the deep baritone of his voice carrying across the room. "I had hoped to see you here, knight of the queensguard!"

"Your Highness." Elsa replied, bashfully lowering her head. "I hope you don't hold a grudge against me for besting you today."

"A grudge?" the prince replied, almost laughing. "Why would I do that? You won, fair and square. I wouldn't want to meet you on a real battlefield, ser, rest assured." He paused for a bit before continuing. "Now, I seem to recall that I promised you a reward, and my word is my bond. What do you wish of me? A new suit of armor? A fine destrier to ride into battle?"

Elsa felt a blush creeping onto her cheeks and silently cursed herself for it. "Truly, your Highness, a reward isn't necessary. The queen already made my highest hopes come true."

He chuckled. "Such modesty, a rare trait nowadays. You should treasure it. If you ever find your way to Corona on your travels with the queen I shall have something special waiting for you!"

Realizing she couldn't dissuade the prince from his endeavor to reward her, she merely replied with a meek "Thank you, your Highness." He nodded his head and was about to say something else, when a servant approached them.

"I deeply regret having to interrupt you, your Highness, ser, but the queen will arrive shortly. I shall show you to your seats."

They both followed him, Elsa thankful for being rescued from the conversation before she would have inevitably said something stupid. The servant led them to a seat to the right of the queen's own, the place of honor at the table. Elsa looked down the rows, trying to discern where her own place would be, when the servant cleared his throat and forced her attention unto him. To her surprise, she saw that Heinrich had already taken a seat to the left of the queen's, opposite the still empty chair. The attendant gestured towards it, saying "Please, ser, take a seat, the queen will be here any moment."

Elsa's eyes went wide. "What, here?! No, no, that can't be right, you must have made a mistake." In her agitated state she missed the man rolling his eyes. "Ser, the queen gave specific orders for you to be seated to her right, now if you would please sit down?"

Tentatively she moved into the seat, barely touching it when the large double doors were opened and Kai strode in. "All rise for her Majesty Queen Anna II. of Arendelle, Duchess of-" He was interrupted by Anna walking in, muttering "Yes yes, they all know who I am." Kai frowned, but remained silent.

As soon as the queen sat down in her chair, everyone else also took their seats. Servants scurried along, filling cups with wine. Elsa kept her head trained on her chalice, frequently taking little sips in hope of remaining unnoticed. Soon, however, the queen addressed her.

"I hope you find your quarters to your liking, Ser Elsa?"

She looked up, finding the queens gentle eyes resting on her. "I-uh, yes, your Majesty. They are wonderful, thank you very much."

Anna smiled. "I am sure this is all very new to you."

Elsa lowered her head, blushing. "Is it that obvious?" she whispered.

To her surprise, the queen chuckled. "Don't be afraid, as queensguard everyone will be quite eager not to anger you."

"Thank you, your Majesty." Elsa replied with a smile.

"So, on the morrow you will be introduced to your new companions in the queensguard. Unfortunately, Knight Commander Petter is currently out of the country, so your official induction into the queensguard will have to wait until he returns. In the meantime, you will of course receive a new suit of armor to signify your status and-"

She was interrupted by Elsa. "Your Majesty, I'm afraid I have already asked too much of you, but is it possible for me to keep my old armor? I-I'll have it repaired and cleaned, of course!"

Anna cocked her head to her side. "Does your armor mean that much to you, ser?"

"It...it was a gift to me by Ser Lothar upon receiving my knighthood. Aside from his sword and a pendant it's the only thing I have left of him."

"He meant a lot to you, didn't he?"

"Yes, your Majesty. He..." She hesitated, unsure how much of her past she should reveal to the queen. "He took me in when I was half dead from starvation. I owe everything to him. He was like a father to me."

She felt her eyes mist over and quickly lowered her head, taking a deep gulp of iced wine in hope of calming herself down.

"Now, now, Anna, don't pry. It is obviously a very personal matter for our good ser knight. I'm sure my sister taught you better than that?" Heinrich said with a smirk.

"Thank you for reminding me at my own table, in my own palace, _uncle._ " Anna groaned, but smiled nonetheless.

Their banter went back and forth and Elsa got very involved with her cup of wine, trying her best not to attract anyone's attention. The first course was served and she was glad she remembered most of her table manners. Soon, however, she found her inhibitions slowly melt away, no doubt thanks to the alcohol, and she occasionally took part in conversations around her when she deemed it appropriate.

"We have actually met before, your Highness." she said, looking at Heinrich.

He eyed her warily. "Did we, ser? I'm sure I would remember meeting such a striking beauty like yourself."

She smiled shyly. "The circumstances were less than beautiful, your Highness. It was in the second siege of Copenhagen, the day we finally broke down the gates. You saved my life."

His eyes went wide. "How so?"

"It was in the fighting at the inner moat. A southron man-at-arms had landed a strike from behind, tripping me, and already raised his poleaxe to deliver the killing blow, when you simply rode up and bashed his head in with your mace. In the mêlée today I could tell your style of fighting was familiar, but couldn't put a name to it until you removed your helmet."

"Ha!" he called out, smirking, "Then it seems like my reward to you will be to call it even!"

She actually laughed at that. "That seems quite fitting, your Highness." she replied.

"You fought in my campaign against the Southern Isles, Ser Elsa?" Anna asked, incredulously.

"Yes, your Majesty. In both, actually. When the south invaded I was Ser Lothar's squire, and he joined your army train. In the second campaign, to quell their uprising, I was already a knight, but still traveled with him, and we both joined your forces. The day I was saved by Prince Heinrich was also the day he died."

"I remember." Heinrich said, "single bolt through the chest. An unfitting end for a great knight."

"Quite so." Elsa whispered, raising her cup. "To Ser Lothar, and all the other great knights who died to bring us peace."

Both monarchs and several nobles within earshot joined her pledge, raising their goblets and thinking of the dead.

Elsa noticed a man saunter up to the queen with deliberate steps, leaning in to her and whispering something in her ear. She couldn't make out the words, but they made Anna's face light up. "Thank you, Lord Pippin. Look into the matter and report to me once you're absolutely sure." The man bowed and walked away, leaving the room. Elsa watched him warily. There was something about him that made her feel uneasy.

She soon shook the feeling, however, when she was pulled into a riveting tale delivered by Prince Heinrich about the first time he sat on a horse, that had her fighting hard to hold back a chortle.

The dinner ended soon thereafter, and Elsa excused herself to retire to her room, feeling quite exhausted. A servant led her through the unfamiliar halls and corridors to the guard's tower, and she finally slumped down on her bed, ready to pass out. _This might not be so bad after all._ she thought.

* * *

 **okay, new thing. What do you think of it? I wanted to do a somewhat different take on the 'knight-and-queen' thing that several authors have done already (quite successfully, I heartily recommend 'The Queen's Mercy' by JYN044 and 'In the service of the Queen' by Malthazar Lord of Shadows just to name two). Thus the little role-reversal. It'll be interesting to figure out how the different roles and changed circumstances will affect our heroines. If some actions seem OOC, please consider their background in this fic (i'm still open and welcoming towards any criticism you feel like sharing, particularly in regards to how elsa and anna behave).**

 **now,i'll also need to explain a few background facts that i'm going to incorporate into the fic, but I know not many people are quite as interested or well-versed in late-medieval history. The fic takes place in a slightly-AU europe, starting in the year 1504, in the early phases of the military revolution. I'm a big sucker for verisimilitude, thus I strive o be as accurate as possible in my depictions and interactions, but I will occasionally take some creative freedoms. but no official lesbian marriages. we're still in 16th-century europe, come on. I'll try to explain any important events or specific terms and concepts I use in my chapters in the A/N of the chapter, for the people who are interested. Which leads to the next part of this monster-A/N**

 **expanations!**

 ** _Arendelle_ – basically historical norway, assuming the Kalmar Union never actually happened  
 _Southern Isles_ – historical denmark, now ruled by Anna in a personal union (which is a sort-of reversal of the kalmar union. I like irony^^)  
 _Corona_ – my version of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, hence ****Heinrich's title as ' _Prince-Elector_ ' (since the margrave of Brandenburg was one of seven electors in the holy roman empire for most of its history)  
 _Weselton_ – an independent duchy, my equivalent of the swedish county of Skåne (which was never independent, but artistic license, shut up)  
 _Mêlée_ – part of medieval tournaments,which worked differently from how I described them. Usually two teams of knights would meet each other on horseback and try to break the other's ranks, then turn around without breaking their own formation to run the 'enemies' down. Later forms could also be a free-for-all brawl similar to what I depicted, but usually involving hundreds of knights and their retinues, totaling several thousand people. They'd fight on a large, open field rather than in an arena, but again, artistic license, shut up)  
**

 **also, some bonus history trivia: the Abensberg-Trauns are one of europe's oldest noble families still existing today. they have several holdings in eastern austria, including a 'castle' (i'm using the term _very_ liberally here) in the village where i grew up.**

 **i'll get into all the lingo about armor and period-historic clothing (they already had bras in the early 16th century!) in chapter two, since this A/N is already a length-abomination that should be killed with fire**

 **alright, so this is it. As always, any thoughts, suggestions, criticism and death threats can be left via review, PM, or chinese whispers**


	2. Settling in

"And lastly, this is the solar of the queensguard." the Lord Marshal said with a flourish, gesturing to a heavy oaken door. "No one but members of the queensguard are allowed past this door, no servants, not me, not even the queen herself. You, too, will have to wait until Knight-Commander Petter returns and formally inducts you into the guard."

Elsa, clad in simple chainmail, nodded her head. The tour of the castle had been exhaustive, and she struggled to even remember the way back to her own quarters, which were on a lower level of the tower they were currently in.

Her guide chuckled, aware of the confusion she felt. "Don't worry, ser, it seems very daunting, but in a few months you will know the castle like the back of your hand."

She blushed slightly, embarrassed that her disorientation had been so obvious.

"Thank you, Lord Marshal. I'm sure you have better and more important things to do than showing me around. I'll leave you to your duties."

"And have you starve to death because you lost your way and couldn't find the kitchens? The queen would have my head." he replied with a laugh. "I'll escort you to your next destination, if you'll allow me?"

Elsa smiled shyly. "Of course, thank you again Lord Marshal. I'd like to visit the training grounds, give my sword a few good swings."

He raised his eyebrows. "Already? You took some hard hits yesterday, shouldn't you be resting?"

Elsa gave a wry chuckle. "I don't imagine any would-be assassins would go easy on me just because I have a few bruises and a sore sword-arm. I have to be prepared, no matter what."

Henrik gave an appreciative nod. "Right you are." he said, extending his arm. "This way, if you please."

She fell into step beside him and they quietly descended a few round stairwells. They were passing through a corridor into the newer part of the castle when he raised his voice again.

"The noble guests of the celebrations are in quite an uproar about yesterday's events."

"I can imagine." Elsa replied.

"The gossip is already running rampant. I'm quite curious as well, but I'd rather have facts than wild speculation."

She understood the unasked question. "I have my reasons, my lord."

He stopped walking and quickly checked if they were alone in the short hallway.

"Care to elaborate, ser? It is my duty to protect the country, and that means protecting my queen."

She sighed. "I understand, my lord. I'm an unknown, and as queensguard I'd be in a prime position to become a _would-be assassin_ myself."

She paused, and took a deep breath.

"I'm an orphan. My parents were killed shortly after my seventh name day, and I spent most of my early years living on the streets, traveling from village to village. I had to steal in order to survive, and I wasn't very good at it. When I was fifteen, Ser Lothar quite literally stumbled over me, lying half-dead in an alley. He took pity on me, gave me some food and new clothes and offered to take me along until I found a place that would take me in. That never happened, so he was stuck with me for a while. Over time we discovered I had a knack for riding and sword-fighting, and he decided to take me on as his squire. The rest is a rather typical tale of a landless knight, traveling the country with his squire, righting wrongs and helping the smallfolk."

Henrik chuckled darkly. "Landless knights wandering the country usually create more wrongs than they right, but Lothar has been ever the chivalrous one. But that still doesn't explain why you want to serve in the queensguard."

"During my travels with Lothar, and later on my on, I've seen firsthand how the queen has impacted the lives of her people. How she has changed the country for the better. Last year I've passed through the small town where I was born. It has an orphanage now...I know I've been incredibly lucky, most orphans eventually wind up dead, or worse. Or at least, they did. So I decided to do my part to aid with this change, to turn Arendelle into a better place for everyone.

"And the best place for me to do so, considering my particular skills, is beside the queen, protecting her from any and all threats. The smallfolk drink to her health, but I've heard the misgivings among the nobles. Limiting the power of the nobility while strengthening the rights of the common people wouldn't make her many friends among the powerful. I hear she even stripped a baron of his lands and titles when she came to know how badly he treated his people. What I want to say is that I just feel, deep in my heart, that this is where I can do the most to help change Arendelle for the better."

She had started quietly, bashfully even, but as she went on she got more and more worked up, and Henrik noticed the fierce glint in her eyes by the time she was finished. He had seen it before, many times, mostly in soldiers before a battle, after he had given a rallying speech. It spoke of utmost conviction, a fierce dedication to the task at hand.

But very often he had also seen those very same soldiers throw down their weapons and break rank when the battle seemed to turn against them. He was convinced that she truly believed in what she had just said, but it remained to be seen how she would react when that belief was challenged. And it most certainly would. The politics of ruling a country were a disillusioning grind, and many an eager diplomat or statesman who had started with high aspirations had been corrupted by greed and power.

For now, he decided, he would give her the benefit of the doubt. He just hoped he could react quickly enough if he had judged her wrong.

* * *

The next two weeks went by fairly monotonously for Elsa. She spent her days either training with the guards or being instructed by the other members of the queensguard about what would be expected of her, seeing the queen herself just once in the distance, walking down a hallway. She was anxious, however. Knight-Commander Petter's return, and thus her official joining of the queensguard, was expected any day now. It didn't really help that the castle balcksmith, who had forged her new suit of armor, had a very peculiar idea of how her cuirass should look

"Is this a joke?"

"Not at all, ser. My best work, that plate. See that fine chiseling in the bronze coating? Took me days to get it just right." His thick German accent* made him somewhat difficult to understand, but it was clear that he was quite proud of his work.

"Well, it'll take you just as many days to reforge this...this...I don't even know what to say!"

"Beg your pardon, ser?" he asked, incredulous.

"You...you modeled breasts onto the armor! How do you expect me to protect the queen wearing that _deathtrap_ , not even talking about how no one would ever take me serious?!"

"Deathtrap?! This is the finest steel you'll ever wear!"

"Is that so? Just imagine my horse being killed and me crashing to the ground. I now have a wedge of the _finest steel_ , pointing straight at my heart. It would probably even kill me if I stumbled and fell to the ground by myself!"

The blacksmith had his mouth open to retort but closed it again, looking at her with big eyes. "Screw me sideways, the lass s' got a point." he muttered.

"That's 'Ser' to you, and you'd do well to remember!" she seethed, flinging the breastplate she was holding back at him. He caught it and staggered back a few steps, surprised by the strength of her throw. "You have two days to fix this mess."

She stalked off, still fuming, and made a bee-line towards the training grounds, determined to get the anger out of her system by giving some poor guard the thrashing of his life. She knew she had been irrationally rough with the blacksmith. It had probably been the first suit armor he'd ever made for a woman, and just didn't know any better. But her anxiousness, paired with the disappointment that she wouldn't get to keep her old suit of armor, at least for her official duties, made her fuse very short.

It didn't help either that her new, supposed comrades in the queensguard were _suspicious_ of her, to put it lightly. Not because she was a stranger, no. Because she was a _woman_. Elsa had in her naïvety entetained the hopes that, of all the groups, the queensguard would pay more attention to her skills than what was between her legs. She was of course very used to being disappointed in that regard, but it still stung. And the armorer putting such emphasis on her womanly features, when she wanted everyone to just forget about that, was the final straw.

After a short walk lost in her thoughts, she reached the large courtyard and was pleased to see that a detachment of guards were currently training. After spotting the officer in charge she quickly strode over.

"Sergeant!" she hollered, turning quite a few heads. "Who is your best man with a sword?"

The man pondered briefly before turning around to his men. "Jakob, you're up!"

Elsa nodded before walking over to a weapon rack, leaning her sheathed blade against it before drawing a blunted training sword. A circle quickly formed around them, training all but forgotten. When she had first appeared at the training grounds the guards had smiled derisively, not expecting much from a woman playing at being a knight. That attitude quickly changed after they had seen her in action. The sparring matches against her never lasted long, and she had yet to encounter an opponent amongst the guards who came close to even touching her with a blade. She had made it painfully evident just how she had won the mêlée at the tournament, and her position in the queensguard.

This man, Jakob, she hadn't yet fought against. He was tall but not overly burly, and she could see that he relied on speed more than strength. She approached him and extended her arm for a friendly handshake, but he eyed her dubiously.

"Are y' sure that's wise, ser?" he asked.

Elsa realized her only protection was the gorget around her throat and upper chest, and the chainmail sewn onto the arms and armpits of the doublet she'd worn since she wanted try on her new armor immediately. Her opponent, on the other hand, was wearing a chainmail hauberk, a breastplate, and a helmet.

"It's fine." she ground out through clenched teeth, "Shake my damn hand."

He did, and Elsa quickly retreated a few steps, raising her sword.

"The match goes to the first hit, or 'til I call the fight." the sergeant called out. "Go!"

As soon as the word left his lips she advanced, covering Jakob in a series of furious slashes and driving him steadily backwards. Usually she hung back at the beginning of a fight, waiting for her opponent to come at her and make the first attack. She used this to study their technique and look for any flaws she could exploit. This time, however, she didn't care about any of that. In her rage, the guard was little more than a moving training dummy to her.

He had recovered after her initial assault and tried to launch an attack of his own, but Elsa would have none of that. She blocked his downward swipe easily and used the momentum for a horizontal slash, but he caught her blade at the crossguard and turned his own sword, wrenching her's from her hands. He smiled, thinking he'd won, but Elsa proceeded to kick him square in the chest with a furious roar, sending him to the ground. She bent down and picked up her sword, gripping it with both hands and bringing it down with all her strength. Jakob managed to stand up and narrowly dodge with a side-step but lost his footing, and Elsa responded with a powerful horizontal swing that connected with his arm and sent him to the ground again. Even over the cheering of the assembled crowd she could her the crack of a breaking bone.

The whole thing hadn't even taken two minutes. Like a blindfold being removed the haze lifted from her mind, and she quickly sank to her knees beside the writhing guardsman.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." she said breathlessly, hovering her hands over the broken limb, not knowing what to do.

He gritted his teeth and managed a smile. "N't mention it. I deserved that. Shoddy footwork, sergeant keeps tellin' me evry time."

She quickly helped him back to his feet. "Get him to the infirmary." she said to one of his comrades loitering around.

"Quit staring like ya've seen a fuckin' mermaid." the officer yelled, quickly dispersing the crowd. "If ya dumb fucks listened to half of what I say, ya could do that as well!"

"Sorry about that." she murmured to the sergeant, head held low. He made dismissive gesture.

"Heard what he said. Was his own damn fault. Jus' don't go around mauling all me guards if ye could, ser?"

Elsa chuckled. "No promises. But I'll try to avoid broken bones in the future."

* * *

Elsa stood in front of a heavy door in the guard's tower, filled with trepidation. Knight-Commander Petter had finally returned from abroad and called for her almost immediately. She took a deep breath and raised a fist to knock, but stopped when she heard voices from beyond.

"I wish you the best of luck getting your ideas past Alfred." a male voice she didn't recognize said. "He protects the royal treasury as if it were his own."

"He will acquiesce to the queen's command, and _she_ will listen to my counsel. He may grind his teeth and puff up like the peacock he is, but in the end there's nothing he can do." a second voice said, and after a few moments Elsa recognized it as Henrik's.

"Still, it will cost a fortune. Several fortunes. A standing army, preposterous."

"War is changing, Petter. You've read the reports of Cerignola, the Spaniards repelled two full charges by heavy french gendarmes while being outnumbered. The age of the knight is ending, and the arquebus will come to dominate any battlefield."

A slight chuckle could be heard, but the lord marshal went on unperturbed. "I know you don't believe it, but handheld gunpowder weapons are the future. They will render your beloved heavy cavalry obsolete within a few decades."

"Yes, right up until it's even moderately wet and your beloved gunpowder fails to ignite. That's when the _obsolete_ heavy cavalry charges down those fools with their useless sticks."

She heard Henrik give a hearty laugh before he spoke up again. "That's why you use them in formation with pikemen. It's not called pike-and-shot for nothing. And for that formation to withstand your fabled cavalry charge, they need to be relentlessly drilled. Hastily conscripted levies that receive no training beyond 'stick 'em with the pointy end' just won't cut it. Hence the need for a professional, standing army."

"You're the Lord Marshal, Henrik, and if you're so intent on crippling our finances for the next three generations I won't stop you. Just know that I wont hesitate to say 'told you so!' once all that nonsense blows up in your face."

They both shared a good laugh and said their parting words, and with growing panic Elsa realized she had unintentionally eavesdropped on a conversation that was probably not intended for any ears but the ones in the room. Upon hearing the heavy footfalls approaching the door from the inside she frantically looked up and down the short, circular hallway, desperate for a spot to hide, but it was already too late.

The door smoothly opened to reveal Henrik, who didn't appear at all surprised to find her there, though he cocked an eyebrow at Elsa's raised fist, making it look as if she had been about to knock.

"Good day to you, Ser Elsa." he said, mirth coating his voice. "I hope you won't make a habit of manhandling the castle guards?"

"I, uh, no, my lord, not at all. It was a very unfortunate accident and it was quite unfortu...nate." She trailed off lamely, lowering her head to hide the fierce blush covering her cheeks.

"Stop flustering the poor wretch and let her pass, Henrik." the other voice called out. The lord marshal merely chuckled and shook his head, stepping around Elsa and heading down the hallway towards the stairs.

"Come inside, ser, and close the door."

Elsa did as she was bid, standing before her new superior while awkwardly shuffling from one foot to another. Looking up, she got a good look of his features. He had an impressive mustache that dominated the lower half of his face, and the dirty-blonde, neatly trimmed hair was beginning to gray at the the temples. His most striking feature, though, were his piercing gray eyes which were currently sizing her up. His gaze didn't linger in any place in particular but it still made her feel exposed, despite the multiple layers of clothes and the chainmail hauberk she'd donned after her brief _'training session_ ' earlier.

Elsa still had trouble believing that she was actually here, in this room, just a few feet from Knight-Commander Petter Svaleson. A veritable living legend. His skill with a blade was famous beyond the borders of Arendelle, as was his unwavering loyalty. He single-handedly foiled two attempts on the previous king's life, the second time armed with nothing but a cast-iron poker, fighting and defeating three skilled assassins. And now he was standing there, arms crossed, and measuring her with his eyes. A small smirk curled around his lips.

"So, this is the famous Winter Knight. I have to say, you look fairly ordinary for the reputation you seemed to have built up."

Elsa managed to shake her starstruck expression and frowned. "I beg your pardon, ser?"

Petter actually chuckled. "It has been five hours since I got off the ship, ser, and in that time I've heard ten different stories about your unparalleled battle prowess. I do have to admit, defeating Prince Heinrich in single combat is a feat not many could achieve, but until I've convinced myself, you're merely someone who had a lot of luck."

Elsa wasn't sure yet what to think of him now that she had actually met him in the flesh, but the way he so casually dismissed her achievement irritated her. She was aware that he was trying to goad her, trying to get a rise out of her, undoubtedly in an attempt to get a deeper understanding of this complete stranger that been hoisted onto him. And she understood why he did it. But she wasn't going to make it easy if he was so determined to be an ass about it. So she ignored the bait, instead shifting her weight to one leg while crossing her arms in front of her mail-clad chest, and cocked a mocking eyebrow.

"The queen herself saw fit to approve my request to join her queensguard, and there's more than enough guardsmen in the barracks right now who can attest to my prowess."

It was not without satisfaction when she heard him actually growl. "The queen has never swung a blasted sword in her life, and half of the city guard couldn't tell their left ass-cheek from their right. No, I need to see you in action myself."

"So what do you suggest, good ser?" Elsa replied with an amused tone.

Petter grinned while uncrossing his arms. "Oh, I know just the thing." His grin turned feral, and in one fluid motion he drew his sword. "Defend yourself!"

Elsa's eyes widened as she took an involuntary step back. "What? I-I'm unarmed!"

"Beginner's mistake!" Petter barked while performing a lazy thrust that Elsa easily avoided. "At least you've had enough of a brain to wear some armor, but so far I am not impressed."

After another few slow and clumsy swings he slowly circled around Elsa who tried to keep the heavy oaken table between them, desperately wracking her brain for some way to either disarm him, or get a weapon herself. She knew he was toying with her, and without some means to defend herself she wouldn't last five seconds once he started to press her in earnest. She could see in his shifting stance that he was getting tired of playing cat-and-mouse.

In her desperation she spied the tray of refreshments a servant had left on the table, and she made the split-second decision to abandon any notion of chivalrous combat. She grabbed a pot brewed herbs and flung it at her assailant, noting with relief that while the liquid was still hot, it was no longer scalding, and dashed backwards towards the lit fireplace, wrenching a hot iron poker out of the embers it had been lying in.

Petter, having finished wiping the tea out of his face, smirked when he saw what she had picked up to defend herself with. "Oh, the irony." he murmured before quickly advancing and covering her with a relentless barrage of thrusts and slashes, trying to force an opening in her defense. Elsa had a hard time defending herself, for one because Petter truly was an incredibly skilled swordsman, clearly deserving of all the myths and legends surrounding him, and for another because hear only means of defense was a blasted _cast-iron poker_. It was atrociously balanced for use as a weapon, and she worried that it might actually snap if she had to block a particularly hard blow.

However, the poker also had it's advantages. The uneven surface caused Petter's sword to glance off at a weird angle and he had to quickly jump back to recover his balance, and she lost no time going on the offensive. Since the poker had no blade she used it like a mace, but it was hard accounting for the unusual weight distribution. Still, she got in a few good swings, once getting so close to scoring a hit that the hot edge of her weapon tore a searing hole in his sleeve, but eventually his experience and her sub-par weapon caught up with her and she overextended herself after a wild swing aimed for his head. Petter nimbly dodged and immediately seized the opportunity, bringing down hard the pommel of his sword against her forearm, causing her to drop her weapon. He roughly pushed her into the nearest wall and leveled his sword at her throat.

They were both panting heavily from exertion, but a huge grin split his face before he lowered and eventually sheathed his sword.

"In the twenty-one years I've been knight-commander, none of the prospects have ever given me quite such a fight, and from a woman no less. I'm impressed."

The comment gave Elsa pause."You-You're impressed...with _me_?" she asked in a small voice.

"Indeed I am." he answered with an honest smile, "Not many people could have held me off for this long, or even gotten close to actually landing a hit on me, at least without using a proper weapon. And throwing that pot of tea in my face was cheap."

Elsa shamefully averted her eyes. "Yes, that wasn't very knightly of me. I apologize, knight-commander."

Petter actually laughed. "Don't, Ser Elsa. It was he right thing to do in this situation. Having been Lothar's squire, I'm sure the old man drilled into your head that chivalry is a knight's highest duty. To help the weak and protect the innocent. And for any regular knight, I couldn't agree more. But after you've taken your oath, you won't be a regular knight anymore. You'll be a knight of the queensguard! As such, your _only_ duty is to protect the queen, by _any means necessary_. If you have to run someone through from behind, you do it. If you somehow have to sacrifice an innocent bystander to rescue the queen from danger, you do it. Without a second thought. One second of inattention, one moment of hesitation can lead to disaster, and I will _not_ be known to history as the knight-commander who outlived two of his monarchs! Are you truly ready for this, ser?"

She had pondered this question several times over the last few weeks. She was aware that her duties as a queensguard could eventually lead to a clash with her convictions of justice and honor, but wasn't this just another aspect of doing one's duty? To disregard your own honor and convictions if it meant she could improve the lives of _everyone_? It was a knight's holy duty to aid those who couldn't aid themselves, but wasn't she doing that by ensuring the queen's safety? The queen who obviously cared so much about all of er people, and not just the nobility? Deep down she knew that she was making the right decision. But it was questions like these that made her wish her old mentor was still alive. He would've had answers to those questions, and he wold have encouraged her to find her own way in life, no matter if he approved or not.

But she couldn't let him know that there were still lingering doubts in her mind, however small. So Elsa hardened her gaze, squared her shoulders, and defiantly stuck out her chin. "Most definitely."

Petter smiled and inclined his head, and for the first time since she had entered he allowed himself to relax. Seeing the tension seep out of him made her realize just how old he actually looked. She knew he was well over fifty by now, but during their earlier conversation and impromptu duel he had had this burning, youthful energy that made one overlook the wrinkles around his eyes, the way his hairline was receding. And still, Elsa wasn't sure she would have been able to beat him, even properly armed and prepared. It was a humbling realization, and she was grateful for it, because it drove home to her the point that she couldn't allow herself to become complacent, no matter how good she was.

"Well then!" Petter exclaimed enthusiastically, startling her from her thoughts. It seemed he had regained his energy levels from before. "In that case, I think we should discuss a great many things about your future in the queensguard. I'm sure the rest of them have already given you at least a little insight into what will be expected of you, but let's make sure you have the complete picture."

They spent he rest of the afternoon, and most of the night, sitting in his office and going over a truly staggering amount of information. When Elsa went to bed that night, well past midnight, her head was swimming, and she was unsure just how much she would actually remember, come morning. But she couldn't deny the warm, fuzzy feeling spreading all over her body. During their lengthy conversation, almost all doubts Elsa had still harbored had melted away, and for the first time in years she felt like she was pursuing a worthy and laudable goal. Something that would make Lothar proud. So when sleep did finally claim her, it was with a smile on her lips.

* * *

 **chapter two. Yay. Sadly, no anna here. I needed to do a little exposition piece (and may have to do a few more. I love world building ._.), but I don't think there won't be any more chapters without both anna or elsa. Most of this story will be told from elsa's point of view, though I may include a few scenes from the POV of different characters. Please take note that a changes some minor details in chapter 1, mostly just a few names (prince-elector henry is now prince-elector Heinrich because he's german)**

 **Now, explanations!**

 ***the castle blacksmith is german. Especially in the 15th century, northern italy and southern germany were the centers of armor-smithing, where much of the craft was developed and advanced. Many germans and italians roamed across europe and offered their services as blacksmiths. Even today, one of the most common german surnames is 'Schmied' (eng.: smith) or vaiants like Schmitt, Schmitz etc.**

 **armor in particular and clothing in general: the 15th century was _the_ era for full-plate armor (meaning: armor that covered the whole body of the wearer). Plate armor was still widely used until the end of the 16th century, though with some modifications due to gunpowder weapons. Early in the 1500s (where our story is set), armor became increasingly heavy in response to the growing amount of gunpowder weapons. In fact, a heavy breastplate could easily stop the bullet of an arquebus even at surprisingly close ranges. The arquebus wasn't a particularly powerful weapon, and it's main advantage stemmed from it's ease of use: archers had to train for years to achieve any level of proficiency, while an arqebusier required only a few weeks of training before he could be deployed in combat. armorsmiths tested their breastplates by doing a test-firing from an arquebus, and often the resulting dent was encircled with intricate engravings to draw attention to it. Because the armor got so heavy, however, it stopped encasing the wearer fully. The lower legs were left unarmored, it also became common to leave the face bare and not cover it up, which allowed for a much higher awareness of one's surroundings (knights with a full helmet had to constantly turn their heads around like birds because their peripheral field of vision was so limited)**

 **the arming doublet (also known as aketon or gambeson (though that's a more general term)) was worn directly under the armor. It had a healthy padding, being stuffed with scraps of cloth or horse hair. It had arming points: straps where different pieces of the armor would be attached. Beginning in the mid15th century it had chainmail sewn into it, mostly around the armpits and down the arms to the elbows, to protect the joints that wouldn't be covered with plate**

 **also, tiny rant: the very idea of a 'boobplate', as we can see in countless videogames and movies/series is just plain ridiculous, for the very reason elsa got upset over it. If you look at contemporary depictions of women wearing armor, like Jean d'Arc, there isn't even a hint of boob to be seen.**

 **fashion: early 16** **th** **century fashion in** **Western Europe is marked by voluminous clothing worn in an abundance of layers (one reaction to the cooling temperatures of the Little Ice Age, especially in Northern Europe and the British Isles). Contrasting fabrics, slashes, embroidery, applied trims, and other forms of surface ornamentation became prominent. The tall, narrow lines of the late Medieval period were replaced with a wide silhouette, conical for women with breadth at the hips and broadly square for men with width at the shoulders. Sleeves were a center of attention, and were puffed, slashed, cuffed, and turned back to reveal contrasting linings. (i just copied that from wikipedia because** _ **effort**_ **). Also, contrary to popular belief, women (and men) of the 16** **th** **century did not go commando and did indeed have underwear. In 2008, a large deposit of preserved clothes dating back to the 15** **th** **century was found in a castle in austria, among them underpants that looked kinda like a modest bikini bottom, and several bras**

 **alright, that was already way too much. Just one more little thing: i have gone completely nerd and created a small geographical overview of what this AU world looks like. The link can be found on my profile.**

 **And as always, criticism/suggestions/insults are very welcome. Leave them via review or PM**

 **don't forget to be awesome**

 **peace out**


	3. Ceremonies

Thanks to **ComplexStatus** for being an awesome beta

* * *

Elsa was standing before the heavy double doors that would soon open for her, admitting her into the throne room. She was incredibly nervous and, if it wasn't for the ornate helmet she had tucked under her right arm, would've mercilessly wrung her hands. The big day was finally here. Her official joining of the queensguard. She took a deep breath, trying to center herself again, and forced her mind to think of anything but the room beyond those doors.

Looking down, she had to suppress a smile. Her new armor was marvelous and fit her like a second skin. The heavy cuirass, now thankfully without any feminine features, was covered in a thin layer of bronze like the rest of the suit, giving it a gorgeous golden hue. Arendelle's coat of arms, a lion standing on it's haunches while holding an ax, was engraved in incredible detail, and the plate gorget protecting her throat was embossed with the insignia of the queensguard, a large heater shield with an intricate crown on top. The rearbrace and vambrace covering her arms were plain and without embellishment, as if to not draw any attention from the beautiful breastplate. The cuisses covering her thighs were intricately layered, but also without any ornaments. The burgonet-style helmet was adorned with a small comb and an ornate, green-and-purple plume. It left her face bare, which was something she wasn't really comfortable with, but she would have to get used to it.

This new suit of armor was generally somewhat of a departure from her old, banged up suit. It didn't cover her lower legs but was still a good deal heavier. The blacksmith had explained to her that this was the latest development in forging armor, straight from his home town of Augsburg. The cuirass was almost twice as thick as the piece on her old armor, an answer to the recent popularity of the arquebus. The greaves which would have covered her lower legs were a necessary sacrifice to keep the overall weight down. Instead, she now wore boots of hardened leather. When she'd come to pickup her armor she'd apologized profusely to the blacksmith, explaining how she'd had a very short temper that day and he was the unfortunate outlet. He had laughed and waved her off, saying he was just glad she hadn't treated him like poor Jakob immediately after.

A deep groaning sound startled her from her thoughts and she looked up to see the doors swinging inwards. Immediately, snippets of her conversation with Petter two days ago came to her mind.

" _The throne room will probably be packed with spectators. The joining of a queensguard usually isn't much of an event, but with you being a woman there'll be a lot of curious people. And, of course, there's always those who will try to somehow get a word in with the queen."_

Despite his warnings, she was momentarily overwhelmed with the sheer amount of people crammed into the room, all now looking at her, judging her. There was only a small corridor, leading straight to the throne, lined with castle guards. Almost all of the queensguard stood to either side of the throne on the raised dais, in their full regalia. Squaring her shoulders, she took a deep breath and started walking down the corridor, her stride and her high-held chin radiating a confidence she didn't actually feel.

" _Don't show any weakness! Many of the nobles assembled in that room will have little love for the queen, and you must look every bit the stalwart guardian and protector you aim to be."_

When she reached the bottom of the dais she sunk to both knees, head bowed low, and put her helmet on the first step, facing the queen.

"Who comes before us?" Anna intoned with trained precision, keeping her gaze focused on Elsa's kneeling form.

Kai, standing one step below the throne, spoke up. "The Dame Elsa of Arendelle, most loyal knight to her Majesty"

"For what reason have you requested this audience with us, Dame Elsa of Arendelle?" Anna asked in the standard response.

Elsa looked up, still on her knees, and pressed her right fist to her chest. "Your Majesty, it is my humble desire to join the most honorable order of the queensguard, to protect you and your family with my life."

A tiny smirk splayed around Anna's lips before she carried on with the protocol. "Do you have a sponsor for this most noble and honorable of positions?"

" _The whole ceremony is almost as old as the kingdom itself, and thus it's full with platitudes and useless protocol, but we have to play along. Since the queen herself approved your request on the day of the tournament, I will be your sponsor."_

Petter stepped forward, his armor clinking softly. "I, Ser Petter Svaleson, Knight-Commander of the Queensguard, sponsor the Dame Elsa for entry into the order. I vouch on my honor that she will do her duty unfailingly and without question, until she is either released from her oath or death claims her in his cold embrace!"

As tradition dictated, the queen remained silent for a while, an outward display of the deliberation she was supposed to undergo on the issue. She held eye contact with Elsa the entire time, and the knight realized that she had never before seen that particular shade of teal in the eyes of anyone else. Finally, a brief smile lifted the corners of the queen's lips before she stood up, taking hold of the longsword that had been resting on her lap the entire time. Elsa's sword.

"Are you prepared to swear your oath, Dame Elsa? Are you prepared to sacrifice your life, if need be, to keep me and mine safe from harm?"

Elsa, in keeping with tradition, raised her gaze to the high ceiling and folded both of her hands, as if in prayer, and began reciting the ancient oath.

"I do solemnly swear by the Almighty God and in His Name, and in free and voluntary desire, to serve as a knight in the Queensguard of her Most Noble Majesty Queen Anna II. I do swear by the Eternal Power of the Trinity, to be a true and stalwart protector of Her Majesty and her own, either by blood or bond, to lay down my life without question to deliver them from harm. This oath do I give of my own free and independent will, so help me God!"

It had become so quiet in the throne room that the soft clinking of her armor as she bent down again droned in her ears. She heard more than felt the light tap of the sword first on her right, then on her left shoulder.

"I accept your oath and name you Ser Elsa, Knight of the Queensguard. May you serve truly and honorably!" Elsa noted with a smirk how the queen had deviated from protocol and used the male form of address, but kept her head low and waited for the ceremony to conclude. Anna bent down and picked up the helmet, giving it a kiss on each cheek, and gently placed it on her head.

This was her cue to rise to her feet and so she did, trying her hardest to rein in the grin threatening to split her face. The queen made no such attempt and smiled broadly as she offered the sword to Elsa, who took it and turned around, raising it high. Thunderous applause filled the hall, though she noticed several men with severe scowls even while they clapped, but she ignored them. This was her day, and she wouldn't let anyone ruin it for her. A servant handed a heavy green-and-purple cloak to the queen, the same she had draped around Elsa's shoulder on the day of the tournament, and Anna fastened it to her armor's pauldrons. Elsa sheathed her sword in the scabbard hanging from her hip and turned around again, bowing to the queen. It wasn't part of the ceremony but she hoped she could somehow convey to the monarch just how much this meant to her. Deep down she knew that the most exciting part of her life had just begun.

* * *

Elsa was bored out of her mind. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other for the umpteenth time, and tried to think of any way to occupy her mind and alleviate the crushing boredom. Sadly, she came up empty.

She and Ingvar, one of the more open-minded and sympathetic of her new brothers in arms, were standing to either side of the queen, slightly behind her chair, while the diplomats droned on and on. A Muscovite* delegation had arrived early that morning, and had been in negotiations with the queen ever since. It was actually an unexpected and highly important meeting, with both parties trying to smooth things over after an incident at the northern border, which had lead to several injured soldiers on both sides.

" _With your new position, you'll be present at several meetings and audiences, and as such be privy to all manner of delicate information. Just to point out the obvious: without either the queen's or my express permission, you won't even discuss the weather with anyone that isn't the queen, me, or other members of the queensguard. Is that clear?"_

Since the shift change at midday, when everyone had retired to take their meals, Elsa and Ingvar had been standing as still as possible, being constantly alert for any threat. The sun had now almost sunk to the horizon, and she was fairly sure her feet had conspired to slowly kill her. Marching the whole day was easy compared to standing still for so long.

Despite all this, she had to constantly remind herself to keep the smile which threatened to erupt onto her face in check. Perhaps she was still riding the high from the ceremony, three days ago, but she couldn't remember ever feeling this content in her life. She was doing something for the greater good. She didn't have to kill people just because this king or that duke decided they weren't particularly fond of each other. If she had to kill someone in her line of duty, which she sincerely hoped would never happen, she knew that she would do it for the right reason. Anna was a good queen, genuinely concerned about the well-being of all of her subjects. Behind closed doors she was called the 'Peasant's Queen' at several European courts. Whenever these whispers and rumors reached Arendelle she dismissed them, of course, but those close to her could notice how she almost reveled in her reputation.

Elsa had tried a few times to actually follow along with the meeting, but her French* wasn't good enough to understand most of the platitudes being exchanged. What little she understood made her quickly tune out again. She had little love for the veiled language of diplomacy, where every sentence sounded like praise but carried a hidden barb. Thus she was more than relieved when the scraping of chairs reached her ears and she saw that the audience had been concluded. The queen thanked the Muscovite diplomats once again for their patience and understanding, and expressed her relief with having resolved this dispute with words rather than swords. She offered them accommodation in the guest wing of the castle, which the Russians thankfully accepted.

Anna left the room though a small door, Elsa and Ingvar one step behind, and stopped a servant in the corridor to ask him to have her evening meal delivered to her quarters instead of the dining hall. She also told him to find the lord marshal and have him come to her rooms after her dinner, since they had important matters to discuss in regards the days events. While heading towards the royal quarters in the oldest part of the castle, she slightly turned and raised her voice.

"How are you liking your service in the queensguard thus far, Ser Elsa?"

Elsa, surprised at having been addressed by the queen, had to actually think for something to say that wasn't gibberish, so it took her a few moments to reply while maintaining their languid pace.

"Very much, your Majesty. It is a great honor, and I can't thank you enough, your Majesty."

The queen gave a tired laugh. "Please, ser, I've been listening to empty platitudes all day. With no foreign ears around, I ask you to speak candidly."

"I did, your Majesty. It is...refreshing, for lack of a better term, to be done with the senseless slaughter of the past few years, to be doing something honorable, contributing to the greater good for all the people in Arendelle. You are a good queen, your Majesty, more concerned with the well-being of the smallfolk than with the coffers and conceited pride of the nobility."

"Ah, Henrik mentioned you were quite an idealist. I hope I can live up to your standards, ser." Anna replied with a genuine smile, but it grew pained. "But I'm afraid you will be disappointed."

Elsa frowned, but chose to remain silent. They soon arrived at the queen's quarters and took up positions outside the door, settling down in the small alcoves that were carved into the wall, while Anna headed inside, and just a few minutes later a servant arrived with a tray.

After just an hour Henrik arrived, and his appearance was a shock to Elsa. It was the first time she'd seen him out of his armor. He wore a forest-green doublet with voluminous sleeves, which was all the rage lately, and his long, black hair has kept out of his face by a thin leather headband. She had to admit that he cut quite the striking figure, his lean and muscular body prominently on display despite the many layers, and she'd probably be flustered by now if she'd been at all interested in men.

"Good evening Ser Ingvar, Ser Elsa." he said, inclining his head to both of them as he approached. Both knights had stood up when he arrived and inclined their heads in response. "I hope you are enjoying your duties, Ser Elsa?"

She smirked and shook her head slightly. "The queen asked me the same thing just an hour ago. I'm sure she'll tell you my response if you ask about it. I wouldn't want to keep you from your important business."

Henrik flashed her a brilliant smile in response. "You are quite right, ser. By your leave." he said, and stepped through the door after knocking once, closing it behind him.

Elsa had been a bit confused at the queens request of meeting the lord marshal in her quarters, but figured she merely wanted to discuss the results of her talks with the Muscovite delegation in the comfort of her own rooms. Soon, however, she could hear faint grunts and moans that spoke of very different activities. She shot an incredulous look to Ingvar, who had obvious trouble containing his mirth at seeing her expression. His lack of surprise indicated that this wasn't an uncommon occurrence, which only shocked her more.

 _Things will definitely be more interesting now._ she thought once her mind had stopped reeling.

* * *

"Can we please not talk about this? _Again_?" Anna groaned while she pinched the bridge of her nose.

She tried to ignore Henrik's agitated pacing, but it filled the room with a nervous energy that seeped into her bones.

"I'm just trying to understand your reasoning, Anna. Trying and failing. You _hate_ the very idea of arranged marriages!"

She got up and put her hand on Henrik's broad, naked chest, mainly to stop his pacing but also in an attempt to calm him down.

"I do. If I could, I would do away with it in a heartbeat. But I'm the _queen_. I have to think of what's best for Arendelle first and foremost, and if that clashes with my personal opinions then that's a sacrifice I have to make. And you said it yourself, it is imperative that we bind the French closer to us."

She craned her head back to look him in the eyes, and his gaze softened.

"I understand that." he replied, "but if you consider your marriage only in terms of political gain, wouldn't a local noble be preferable? Arendelle's nobles are already agitated, and marrying one of them would placate them and broaden your influence. There must be other ways to improve our relations with France!"

Anna snorted and turned away, walking over to the window and gazing over the vista of Arendal at night.

"Like what? Entangling our economy even further with them? Allowing even more French military advisers? I will not have Arendelle become anyone's puppet! How would that be any different from what the southerners tried when I took the throne?!"

Henrik sighed and came up behind her, circling her waist with his arms and resting his chin on her shoulder. For a while he simply stared at her reflection in the glass. His eyes raked over her exposed body, her small but firm breasts, the smooth expanse of her stomach, the patch of red hair at the apex of her thighs.

"I just don't want to lose you." he whispered after minutes of silence.

Anna turned in his embrace and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. "Nothing has to change between us." she replied.

Henrik scoffed and broke he embrace, starting to gather his discarded clothes. "You heard how Petter described him. He is headstrong, boastful, and vain. He won't tolerate his wife having a consort, no matter if she's the queen or a peasant." He paused for a moment before shaking his head with a chuckle. "A de Valois with a peasant. Now that would be something to see."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Anna said, leaning against the cool windowsill. "Besides, we don't even know if Louis* will agree. He _is_ his favorite cousin, after all."

"Which could topple all of your hopes for establishing closer relations. If he marries you and isn't happy with you, he could easily turn the king against us. Have you thought of that possibility?"

"Well, I guess I'll have to _make_ him happy, then." Anna replied with a smirk devoid of any mirth. Henrik, now fully clothed, stiffened and clenched his jaw, and Anna realized she'd said the wrong thing.

"Henrik..."

"I better go now." he interrupted, turning towards the door.

"Wait, please!" Anna begged, starting after him. She reached him just as he opened the door to the antechamber, and grabbed his arm to turn him around. His face was an expressionless mask, but she could still see the pain in his eyes.

"I'll see you at the council meeting tomorrow." he said stiffly, before gingerly cupping her face with his right hand. "Have a good night's rest." he said softly before turning and quietly closing the door behind him.

Anna sighed and collapsed onto her bed. Some part of her truly wished that she returned his feelings. Another part was glad that she didn't. While he was a fantastic lover and very dear to her, she wouldn't gain anything from marrying him. And it was rather obvious that that was what he was playing at when he said she should wed a 'local noble'. That she had to think of her own marriage in terms of political benefit galled her to no end, but it was one of the many things she had to deal with as queen.

With a groan she sat up again and opened the drawer of her bedside table, pulling out a small leather pouch. She poured a small amount of dark seeds into her palm, and after taking a deep breath, threw them into her mouth. She started chewing, and her face instantly contorted into a grimace of disgust, even the generous sips of cider didn't help much in getting rid of the revolting aftertaste. But that was a necessary sacrifice, as well. Nothing screamed 'scandal' as much as bringing a child into your first marriage.*

After her taste buds had stopped revolting against her, she threw on a thin chemise and quickly went about extinguishing all the lights in her room. It had become quite late, and Henrik's last comment had reminded her that she would have to get up early the next day. So he settled into her bed, ready to just forget about this day, but sleep just wouldn't come. Thought after thought raced through her mind, most of them making her doubt all of her decisions ever since she became queen.

"I wish you were still here, papa," she whispered into the darkness, "you'd know what to do."

After ages of tossing and turning she finally fell into a fitful sleep, dominated by dreams about women with pale blonde hair.

* * *

 **another chapter. I hope you can forgive me for that scene with anna and hendrik ._. rest assured, elsanna is the endgame here, and will start soonTM**

 **anyway, footnotes. Yay!**

 ***Muscovy: the Grand Duchy of Muscovy (Moscow) was the direct predecessor of the russian empire. Ivan IV(later known as Ivan the Terrible) was the last grand prince of muscovy (from 1533 to 1547) before being crowned 'Tsar of all the Russias' in 1547. he conquered the khanates of kazan, astrakhan, and siberia, and greatly advanced the russian nation and transformed it from a medieval state to a true empire and regional power**

 ***french: french was the language of diplomacy and the lingua franca in europe from the 17th to the 20th century. I couldn't find any data on what would have been the commonly used language in scandinavia and russia during the 16th century, so I went with french.**

 ***Louis XII de Valois, king of france from 1498 to 1515, and king of naples from 1501 to 1504 (the battle of cerignola mentioned in the previous chapter was part of the second italian war, where louis XII tried to assert his claim as king of naples (which went swimmingly. Not.). It was one of the pivotal battles in european military history, and heralded the beginning of a near invincible spanish dominance on european battlefields for over a hundred years)**

 ***contraception in the 16th century: it's surprisingly difficult to find any solid info on what kind of contraception was used in the 16th century, besides abstinence (yeah, nah), pulling out, or various methods of abortion long after intercourse. Thus I decided to have anna use the seeds of queen anne's lace, or wild carrot (daucus carota), which have been described as tasting 'unbelievably bitter'. The earliest reference to it being used as contraceptive is from hippocrates, so i'm pretty sure people in the early 1500s knew about it.**

 **Bonus trivia: the oath elsa takes is my adaptation of an oath found on malta, engraved in latin into the tombstone of a knight buried there. Tapping the shoulders of the knight-to-be with a sword evolved from the custom of giving them a good, hard smack to the cheek/ear, either with the hand or the flat of the blade. There's actually a saying in german, 'schreib' dir das hinter die ohren' (loosely translated: write that behind your ears), which means you really shouldn't forget 'that'. It stems from this tradition, and signifies its original purpose: the recipient of the the blow to the ears was supposed to always remember the painful blow, and the significance of the event associated with it.**

 **also, i did a thing with maps and stuff. visit my profile for the imgur link :)**

 **Alright, so, the usual: any suggestions/criticism/opinions are still very welcome and encouraged. Let me know what you think, either per review or PM :)**

 **don't forget to be awesome**

 **peace out**


	4. Cold?

Since apparently everyone decided to celebrate this questionable holiday by updating their fics, I might as well. Damn peer pressure^^. Anyway, enjoy. Happy holidays :)

* * *

"Out of the question!" Alfred yelled while slamming his fist on the table. "Do you have even an inkling of the cost? It would be ruinous!"

"If you'd bothered to listen to me, instead of trying to out-shout me for the _last five hours_ , you'd know that the additional costs are actually quite manageable." Henrik replied though clenched teeth, having long abandoned his seat and resting his heavy arms on the table. "You know very well what kind of strain a military campaign causes on our economy in it's current system, what with all the peasants being pressed into the army as levies and being slaughtered because they receive barely any training!"

He sighed, standing to his full, imposing height again, and continued in a more conciliatory tone. "Yes, on paper my proposal of a standing force is much more expensive, compared to levies that are only raised when needed." Alfred opened his mouth, but Henrik just kept on talking. "However, you fail to take into account that those levies, which won't be needed anymore, remain at home to work their fields. And we also shouldn't forget the copious amounts of reparations we'll have to pay from losing war after war because we didn't keep up with the developments of modern warfare. Investment in the military means investment in the future!"

Alfred merely shook his head disdainfully, obviously not convinced. "I maintain my position that your proposal would absolutely wreck our economy for generations. What good does a 'perfect army' do us if we can't pay for its upkeep?"

He sighed and pinched his nose, obviously fed up with the argument. "Your Majesty!" he said in a pleading voice, turning to the queen. "Surely you won't condone such lunacy?"

Anna, having slumped in her chair with her head resting on her hand, straightened up at being addressed. "I haven't decided yet, Lord Alfred, but since the lord marshal's arguments make a lot of sense and your only counter seems to be 'I don't like it', I'm tempted to agree with him."

Alfred sullenly tried to stare a hole into the table and mumbled "Of course she's taking his side."

"What was that?" Anna's sharp voice pierced the thick air like a whip.

Alfred stared at the queen wide-eyed, his mouth opening and closing a few times, before being able to stammering out "N-nothing, your Majesty. Absolutely nothing."

"Right, nothing." Anna replied with a venomous sweetness. "You'd do well to remember that _absolutely nothing_ is what I'll reduce you to if you continue this insolent behavior. You all know I want to hear the unadulterated truth, but I _will not_ tolerate whispers behind my back! _None_ of you are irreplaceable, I hope you don't forget that another time." She made a brief pause to stare down every man seated at the round table, and they all quickly faltered under her withering glare. "This meeting is adjourned." she finally ground out.

A small smirk rushed over Henrik's face, but he quickly dropped it when he noticed the piercing gaze Anna was leveling at him. She truly wasn't in the mood for any games right now, and he took the hint and left the room with the other members of the small council. The queen retained her stiff posture until Henrik had closed the door behind him, at which point she forcibly exhaled and slumped back in her chair, her head hitting the back rest with an audible thud. She closed her eyes and slowly dragged her hands down her face, remaining quiet for just a few moments.

"Kai?" she finally asked with a tired voice.

"Yes, your majesty?" the chamberlain replied, appearing next to her like an apparition.

"Do I have any other appointments today?"

"No, your majesty."

"Good." Anna said with a sigh. "Tell the kitchens I wish to take a late lunch in my quarters. And have someone draw a bath. I feel the need to wash all that political filth off of me."

Kai gave a wry smile and a shallow bow. "At once, your majesty."

Anna got up and left the room, slowly advancing through the castle to the royal quarters. On her way, she passed through the base of the guard's tower, the only way into the royal wing. A security measure from times long gone, when the tower had been big enough to house the entirety of the castle guard. The castle had been greatly expanded in the centuries since it was first built, and now the guard complement was accommodated in a barracks nestled against the outer curtain wall. The queensguard were now the sole occupants of the guard's tower.

She slowed to a stop before reaching the stairs to the royal wing and turned to a servant lounging around. "Hurry to my quarters and tell the servants to hold off drawing my bath for now. There's something I need to take care of."

The servant nodded and quickly ascended the stairs to the royal wing, while Anna turned around and took the staircase leading up the tower. When she reached the first landing she addressed the sole queensguard accompanying her. "I won't require your presence for the time being, Sigurd. Yo can retire for two hours."

Sigurd looked like he wanted to object, but thought better of it and inclined his head. "As you wish, your majesty."

He followed her another floor up and then departed for his quarters. Anna continued her ascent alone, and soon reached Knight-Commander Petter's office on the top floor. She knocked, but received no answer. After a while she stuck her head into he room and found it deserted. _Must be in his quarters_ , she thought, and turned around, heading down again to the second floor. She walked along the round corridor, passing several doors leading to the quarters of individual knights, and was almost at her destination when a blast of cold hit her feet. She frowned and turned towards the source, finding a firmly shut door with cold air steadily seeping out from the gap between wood and stone. What really piqued her curiosity, however, was the faint blue light shining through the gap.

She squared her shoulders and resolutely knocked on the door, and the cold and strange light stopped immediately with a crash, followed by a string of curses. The door was soon opened just a crack, and Elsa peeked out, hair frazzled and ice-blue eyes wide in surprise.

"Oh, your majesty! I...uh, was there something you needed?"

Anna, momentarily distracted by Elsa's haggard appearance, drew a complete blank.

"Good day, Ser Elsa! I was just on my way to see the knight-commander, and, er, wanted to see how you've settled in?" She silently cursed herself for how feeble her excuse sounded, though Elsa didn't notice over the sheer panic coursing through her.

 _Shit, shit, shit. She saw!_ "Quite well, your majesty, thank you." she finally managed to say, and was surprised at how calm she managed to sound.

 _Deflect! Say something, anything! Talk about the weather...no, not the weather, that could involve cold..._

An awkward silence descended upon them while Elsa desperately tried to find some innocuous topic of conversation, until Anna finally managed to tear her gaze away from Elsa's impossibly blue eyes, and noticed the large scar running across her throat.

"Oh my god!" she gasped, "How did that happen?"

Without thinking her hand came up, as if to trace along the scar, but stopped in its motion when Elsa jerked back, her own hand coming up to cover her throat self-consciously.

Elsa was about to politely decline sharing the worst experience of her life, when the thought struck her: _That's it!_ _ **The**_ _conversation stopper if there ever was one._

"I...my parents..." Elsa began haltingly, fighting down her trepidation with telling the _queen_ something only Lothar had known. "My parents had a small farm on the outskirts of Vinje. When I was seven, a group of bandits came to our house one day and demanded we feed and shelter them. My parents refused, and the bandits just...cut them down. My mother had told me to hide, but they set fire to the house and I had to run out. They were still there and...and made me watch my dead parents while they slit my throat." Elsa paused for a bit and gave a watery chuckle. "Only they botched it, so now here I am."

She had lowered her eyes and started wringing her hands at some point, and Anna almost couldn't take it. All she wanted to do was to hug her fiercely, to give some measure of comfort to this forlorn soul, but she was the queen, and it wouldn't be appropriate. But she had to do something! Anything to show Elsa that she understood, that she knew the pain of losing ones parents. The circumstances were hardly comparable, of course. She was suddenly very glad her parents had simply been lost at sea, instead of...going through the horror Elsa had had to endure.

"I'm so sorry." Anna said, barely a whisper, and laid her hand on Elsa's arm, in a gesture she hoped would convey everything she couldn't put into words. "I cant imagine what you had to go through. I.. I feel guilty for making you live through this memory again, I shouldn't have pried. I'm sorry"

Elsa slowly recovered from the shock of actually having been touched by the queen, and was _still being_ touched by the queen, and lowered her head bashfully. "It's quite alright, your majesty. It's been twenty years by now, and it's hardly the most disturbing sight I'd had to endure."

Anna was at a loss for words. What could one reply to such a statement? It became clear to her that Elsa's history wasn't as clear-cut as Pippin's report indicated. She opened her mouth to say something, she didn't know precisely what herself, when someone cleared their throat behind her and saved her from further embarrassment. Briefly.

Anna whirled around and came face to face with Knight-Commander Petter, looking at them both in a mix of amusement and concern.

"Is there an issue, your majesty?"

"Knight-Commander! No, no, everything's fine!" Anna replied in a jumble of words and wondered why she'd become so flustered all of a sudden. "I actually came to see you, and just had a small chat with our newest queensguard."

"All is well then, I presume?" he replied, fighting down the smirk at seeing the blushing queen and a slightly dazed looking Elsa.

"Yes! Of course. All is well. Brilliant, actually. Couldn't be better."

Another awkward silence broke out, this time interrupted by Petter clearing his throat again.

"What did you need from me, your majesty?" he inquired, trying to keep his voice serious.

"I needed something from you? Oh, yes, I wanted to discuss some aspects of your latest, uh, journey with you, knight-commander. Do you have time right now?"

Petter smiled an inclined his head. "Of course, your majesty, but I doubt the hallway is the best place for such a discussion. I suggest retiring to my office."

"You're right, as always. Lead the way." She turned towards the door. "I wish you a good day, Ser Elsa."

Elsa gave a slight bow. "Likewise, your majesty. Thank you."

Anna quickly walked down the corridor to catch up with Petter, who had walked ahead, and soon they reached his office. Petter went through the motions of offering her refreshments, which she declined, before siting down opposite Anna, behind his desk, and leaning in.

"So what did you want to discuss, Anna?"

During her childhood Petter had been a fixture in her life, like an older cousin who would always share the wildest stories, give her small gifts, and sneak her treats when he thought her parents weren't looking. After Anna had taken the throne he had attempted to be more formal with her, but she had quickly shot that down.

"I had a conversation with Henrik last night, and he raised a very interesting point we hadn't thought of before."

"Which is?" he replied with a raised eyebrow.

"How close exactly is Étienne to the king? Could he actually turn Louis against us if he is... _displeased_ with anything?"

"I assume you refer to you sleeping with Henrik?"

"Among other things, yes." Anna answered, fighting down her blush.

Petter sighed and massaged his temples. "I honestly don't know. This is why I was against me going on this stupid mission in the first place. I'm not a diplomat, Anna, I have no idea how he would react. Or if he has enough influence with the King to actually affect our relations. I assume he wouldn't be too pleased if you had a consort, but from what I gathered during my time at his family's château he is quite popular with the ladies himself. I guess you could come to an arrangement, quid pro quo."

"Asger thought your, ahem, _friendship_ with his mother was a good enough reason for a visit. And thank you for your input, Petter. I guess I'll have to find some way to resolve this...situation."

Petter was quiet for a few moments, leveling his heavy gaze on her features. "I know it's none of my business who you spend you nights with, Anna, you could start screwing Elsa for all I care." At the mention of Elsa the queen flushed heavily and rubbed her neck nervously. "But don't string Henrik along. He hides it well, but I can tell he has feelings for you. You should end this before it goes any further. I don't want to see him get hurt."

"You're right, Petter, my private affairs are none of your business." she replied, with more bite than she intended. "But...yeah. I guess I should end this before he becomes even more attached. It's just...I'm tired of being alone. You and Henrik are the only ones who see 'Anna' and not 'the queen of Arendelle' when you look at me. Well, and Kai, I suppose, but I don't think I'll ever get him to call me by my name, even if I ordered him to. I've tried."

Petter couldn't help the chuckle escaping his throat. "He is probably the most dutiful man in all of Arendelle. His loyalty would put even mine to shame."

"I don't know what I'd do without him." Anna murmured, genuine admiration in her voice. "Whenever it becomes _just too much_ , he's simply...there. Taking care of the details in that contract, dealing with petitions of angry nobles, sometimes even just a word of encouragement is enough. He always knows precisely what to do to keep me going."

"But he's not a friend, at least in the strictest sense."

"Of course not." Anna said with a snort. "He's _too_ professional, and I never thought one could be too professional. But maybe that's just what I need. Someone who's truly impartial, who agrees with what I say because he really thinks it's right, not just because I'm the queen. Hell, I probably could do away with the small council _and_ the Riksrådet* and just use him for advice. In fact, I might just do that right now. I get a headache just _thinking_ about all the bickering..."

"The bishops wouldn't be too pleased." Petter replied with a smirk, choosing for now to indulge her in her ridiculous fantasies.

"To hell with them." she answered with a dismissive wave of her hand. "They have their eternal kingdom in heaven, they don't need to meddle in _my_ kingdom while they're alive."

"Just be nice and demure when they're here, and don't hurt them too much with your reforms. If you anger them, they'd out-meddle you in a heartbeat."

Anna pouted and was about to reply with a snarky comment, but her stomach chose this time to voice it's displeasure.

"Guess I shouldn't have skipped breakfast today." Anna said with a faint blush.

Petter smiled. "Just go and feed that bottomless pit before I have to carry you downstairs."

Anna got up and, in the most unqueenly fashion, stuck out her tongue before she skipped through the door, followed by Petter's laughter.

* * *

It had truly been too long. She couldn't even remember the last time she had just taken a leisurely stroll through the streets of Arendal, just walking without any clear destination in mind. People were bowing when she passed, giving their well-wishes or asking for her blessing for this or that. She smiled, and reveled in just mingling with her people. She was in such a good mood that she even completely ignored the disdainful glowers leveled at her by the four queensguard accompanying her. All of them had begged her to take a carriage, or at least a full compliment of guards, but she (quite literally) put down her foot and insisted on this minimal protective detail.

Elsa, walking directly to her right, was constantly scanning the crowd for any possible threats, her hand nervously brushing over the pommel of her sword.

"Will you please relax, Elsa? Nothing is going to happen."

The blonde scoffed. "Yeah, right. The fingers won't be pointed at you _when_ something happens."

Anna laughed, free and unburdened. "Can't you just enjoy us taking a walk? You know fall doesn't last long, and it'll be too cold to just be walking around soon."

"The sooner the better." Elsa mumbled under her breath, but Anna ignored it. It was too nice a day to spend it worrying.

They stopped at a market stall selling all manner of goods, and Anna purchased a woven bracelet, dyed in green and purple. The vendor nearly fainted when she had approached, and steadily refused any payment from her.

"I _order_ you to tell me how much you charge for this bracelet." Anna said with a good-natured smile.

The vendor, knowing he couldn't just ignore a direct order, finally acquiesced and mumbled "Three skillings, your majesty." He blanched again when Anna laid a whole kroner onto the counter and told him to 'keep the change', and before he had collected himself enough to object Anna had already moved on.

"I think we should turn back now." Elsa whispered, leaning in.

Anna frowned. "Will you please stop worrying already? You usually aren't this paranoid."

"I just have a bad feeling, I guess." Elsa mumbled in reply.

"Told you not to eat that much ham right before bedtime." Anna snickered, and quickly swiveled to the side to dodge a lazy swat from Elsa's armored hand. She felt something whiz past her head and turned to see Ingvar bonelessly flopping to the ground, a crossbow bolt sticking out of his eye socket. Her eyes turned wide but she had no time taking in the morbid scene, as Elsa roughly took her by the arm and shoved her towards Sigurd and Magnus.

"Get her back to the castle, now!" the blonde yelled at them while drawing her sword. "I'm going after the shooter."

She was already halfway down an alley before Anna had recovered enough to yell after her to come back.

"Let go of me, you should help Elsa!" she told her two remaining queensguard, but they ignored her and pushed the gathering crowd out of the way before breaking into a full sprint, dragging Anna behind them.

"Stop it, you have to help her! I order you to go after Elsa right now!"

They continued to ignore her and continued at their breakneck speed, but a sudden feeling of dread pooling in her stomach had Anna stop dead in her tracks and she almost lost her footing. Suddenly, the deep boom of a cannon being fired echoed across the town, and Anna knew something terrible had happened.

With a gasp she shot up, her chemise sticking to her sweaty body, and she had to blink a few times before realizing she was in her own chambers, lying in bed.

 _What the..._

She kicked off her comforter and sat up, running a hand down her face.

 _That was the weirdest dream ever,_ she thought, getting up and opening the window of her suddenly too-stuffy room. She enjoyed the cool night air hitting her face, and after a while of just standing there, eyes closed, she returned to her bed and lay back down, hoping to get a few more hours of sleep. Hopefully without any strange dreams.

* * *

 **chapter 4. hooray. I hope you have forgiven me for the ending of chapter 3. though I guess with the ending of _this_ chapter i've lost any forgiveness I might have earned, huh?**

 **Anyway. We're very light on explanations today. Go us!**

 ***Riksråd: the Riksråd was a council (sometimes transated as 'privy council' or 'council of the state' consisting of members of the clergy and the nobility. In my version of things it only assembles on special occasions, like when war is declared or the monarch dies and a new ruler has t be crowned.(i just copied this next part straight from wikipedia because i'm a lazy git)There doesn't seem to have been any clear rules for how many members the council should have, or who should be councillors. During the 15th century, the number could be from 30 to 40, whereas after 1500 it was barely above 10. The Norwegian bishops were automatically members. There was at the time five bishops in mainland Norway (the archbishop in Trondheim, the bishops in Oslo, Hamar, Stavanger, Bergen), plus one in the Faroe Islands, two on Iceland, one in Greenland, and one in Orkney. The bishops from the islands rarely participated in the Norwegian riksråd. In addition, the chaplains of the royal chapels in Oslo and Bergen were permanent members. So were the commanders of the five strongest castles of Norway: Bohus, Akershus in Oslo, the castles in Bergen, Tønsberg and Trondheim. The rest of the council was recruited from the Norwegian nobility. Only Norwegians were eligible for these places in the Norwegian Riksråd – however, this was also taken to include foreigners who had married a Norwegian. As several of the bishops and commanders of the castles were foreign – mostly Danish, but also some Swedish and German – the number of Norwegians in the Norwegian Riksråd gradually diminished. The archbishop of Trondheim mostly acted as the head of the council.**

 **That's it. Yep. Cool, right?**

 **Oh, and there's also an awesome image that inspired my description of Elsa's armor in the previous chapter. The link is in my bio**

 **And as always, criticism/thoughts/suggestions/insults are very welcome. I really mean it. Just hit me with the products of your gorgeous, deranged minds. Preferably via PM or review, and not actually, physically _hitting_ me with something you've thought up.**

 **And don't forget to be awesome**

 **peace out**


	5. Breathe inbreathe out

Anna sighed and massaged her temples, trying to stave off the headache she could feel coming, as General Amundsen left the room. They had been in a long and exhausting meeting, setting up the road map for Arendelle's 'transition to modernity', as he had called it. She should have anticipated that establishing a standing army would be an arduous task, but the scope of the undertaking still overwhelmed her. And they hadn't even properly started yet!

At least Henrik hadn't been here. Two days after her conversation with Petter she had finally summoned enough courage to have _the talk_ with the Lord Marshal, and it had gone less than swimmingly. They hadn't been outright shouting at each other, but she still would have preferred a rational conversation rather than accusations and thinly veiled insults being flung around. Fat chance with feelings being involved.

In the week since, they had gone to great lengths to avoid each other, and she was secretly relieved when she had seen General Amundsen, Henrik's right-hand man, waiting for her, instead of Henrik himself. But that presented its own host of problems. The general didn't have the same kind of rapport with her like Henrik and Petter did, and as such he was painfully formal; which had dragged the meeting out way longer than it had had to be.

Right now, all she wanted to do was to take a leisurely stroll through the castle gardens. She could already tell how the days were getting shorter again, and even though Fall was still a good month or two away, she didn't know how often she'd have the chance to enjoy the summer sun. The next few weeks, or months more likely, promised to become very stressful.

Thus she soon found herself meandering over the grass at a languid pace, smiling contently as the early-afternoon sun warmed her face. Ingvar, decidedly uncomfortable being exposed to the heat in his gleaming armor, maintained a respectful distance. She had been outside for about an hour when her stomach angrily reminded her that she had skipped lunch that day, and so she turned her steps towards the castle once more.

While she made her way to the door, she became aware of the clang of swords in the distance. _'Be there_ ', her father's words rang in her ears, _'nothing inspires loyalty in common men more than a monarch who is genuinely interested in them. Make them feel appreciated, and they'll lay down their lives a hundred times for you._ ' After a quick mental check whether she had any appointments or pressing business, she changed her direction for the training fields. Her path led her through a covered walkway, but when she saw who was training she hesitated with revealing herself, instead choosing to remain in the shadows and observe. For now.

"No, no, no, forget about that halberd." Elsa said, prying the weapon from one of the guards surrounding her in a semicircle. "Yes, it looks imposing to civilians, and out in the town it has its merits. But here in the castle, there isn't enough open space where you could use it effectively. If an enemy ever breaches the walls, its close-quarters combat. You'll want to train your swordsmanship."

Anna had never noticed it before, perhaps she had never _really looked_ , but the blonde looked resplendent in her armor, like a Valkyrie straight out of the sagas. The sunlight gleamed off her armor and made her golden hair shine, and suddenly Anna felt reminded more of the Greek pantheon, of Aphrodite. The goddess of love, beauty, and...pleasure. She felt a fierce blush coming onto her cheeks at that thought, and desperately tried to think of anything else.

Luckily, this was the moment Ingvar chose to quietly raise his voice: "She always trains in full armor, no matter if it's scorching hot or pissing buck- ahem, raining heavily, your Majesty." He paused briefly, before adding: "And she's always training. You can find her either asleep in her quarters, at your side, or here. Not that she has much time to actually do anything because people are constantly asking her for advice or demonstrations." She couldn't help but notice the note of admiration in his voice. Turning back, she saw Elsa drawing her dulled training sword, taking a few steps back.

"Remember, when you outnumber the enemy you _have_ to use it to your advantage. Coming at them one by one will only get you killed one by one." She nodded in turn to each of the three guardsmen fanning out around her, their spectating comrades watching her every move. "Come at me, all at once. And don't hold back. Go!"

They seemed hesitant at first, each trying to capture the eyes of their peers, but finally they started advancing. Two engaged from the front, while the third tried to get behind her. She blocked a downward strike by one and jumped out of the way of the second guard, twirling slightly in the process. A kick to the shin of the first guard sent him face-first to the floor, and then she went up close to the second, overpowering him in a matter of seconds. A swift strike to his upper arm rattled the chainmail he was wearing.

"Dead." she exclaimed, and wasted no time smashing her shoulder into her first opponent who had just gotten back to his feet. He crashed down again, and she quickly drew her blade across the inside of his exposed thigh. "Dead." she said again, with a smirk this time. However, the third guard now chose this time to strike, and manged to land a moderately strong blow on her side. In one fluid motion, Elsa twisted her upper body, smashing her elbow into her assailants helmet and dragging her her sword across his exposed throat while he was still reeling. "Dead, too."

She sheathed the sword and extended her hand to the man still lying prone on the ground, who gladly accepted her help in getting up. "I at least broke your arm with that blow, which means you're either really good at getting the hell away, or very dead." she said to the first guard she had 'killed'. "You have a severed artery in your thigh, which means by now you would be pretty close to bleeding out.", she addressed the second guard, who was still catching his breath after being knocked to the ground twice. "And you..."she continued, turning around to her third assailant.

She paused when she saw the petulant look on his face. "I hit you, dead on! How can you keep going, but all of us are dead?"

She laughed at that, but it wasn't condescending or belittling in any way, more a good-natured chuckle. "Because you decided to strike, of all places, my cuirass. No matter how hard you hit, the only thing you achieve with that is alerting your enemy to your position. Try to go for one of the joints in the armor; or, even better, go for the legs. In one-on-one combat, striking the legs is ill-advised because it puts you in a very awkward position for defending against incoming blows, but when you're behind an enemy that's unaware of your exact location, it's the best option. Cut the hamstrings, or drive the point of your sword into the knee. When your opponent is thus incapacitated, you can easily disarm him and either deliver a coup de grâce, or turn your attention to more dangerous foes."

Anna was having trouble keeping her jaw from falling down. It was one thing seeing Elsa stoically walking or standing behind her, ever watchful, or seeing her being adorably awkward after having been caught doing _something_ (which she _still_ hadn't investigated, her mind chose to remind her right at this moment). But watching her fight and defeat three opponents at once without even breaking a sweat, that was a sight to behold. She was clearly in her element, whirling, twisting, deflecting, striking, all seemingly without effort. In this dance of blades she possessed a deadly grace, braid flying behind and eyes alight with fire, and Anna was suddenly feeling _very_ flustered.

She kept watching, taking in Elsa's profile as she continued talking with the dozen or so of guards before her, giving general advice and individual tips, occasionally chuckling or even full-out laughing at one comment or another.

 _'They're joking with her.'_ Anna realized, gobsmacked. _'She's here for not even two months, and already they respect her enough to take her advice, to actively ask for it, even!'_ Anna knew she should feel jealous about that. It had taken her years and winning an almost hopeless war to earn the grudging respect of the obstinate old men that were the driving force behind the country's nobility. Really, she _should_ have been jealous. But she wasn't.

Before she could continue down that line of thinking, however, Ingvar suddenly coughed, and the sound drew Elsa's attention. She snapped her head around, and saw Anna standing half in the shadows.

"Your Majesty." the blonde said, dipping into a shallow bow. "Have you come to observe the men training?"

"I did, Ser Elsa." she answered, _'But I stayed for you.'_

The errant though made her blush heavily yet again, and she hoped it would be attributed to the heat of the late summer day. She realized only belatedly that the men had snapped to attention, heads bowed and fists over their chests.

"Stand at ease, gentlemen." Anna said with a smile. "You've given quite the demonstration today. Rest assured that I feel perfectly safe having you and your comrades guarding the walls."

She could see the pride shimmering in their eyes, and inwardly thanked her father for helping her even beyond the grave.

"Your Majesty." Ingvar said, "If you wouldn't mind, I think our good Ser Elsa needs a real challenge."

The blonde cocked her head and smirked. "I think so, too. Sadly, I can't see anyone around who could give me such. Do you, Ser Ingvar?"

Ingvar leveled a questioning gaze at Anna, and she nodded with a smile. The knight brightened and quickly exchanged his sword for a blunt training weapon.

"I still owe you for making me look like a fool the last time. This time, you're going down." he challenged with a smile.

"Oh, bring it on." Elsa replied with an easy laugh.

Ingvar put off his heavy cloak and draped it over a training dummy nearby, and gave his sword a few experimental swings. They began circling each other, slowly advancing and retreating. Ingvar attacked first, a tentative thrust easily deflected by Elsa who retaliated with a swipe. So far, it seemed like they were merely testing each other. Anna started worrying when she realized that Elsa wasn't wearing her helmet, but it was too late to intervene now.

After a few more probing jabs and parries, the fight began in earnest. Elsa quickly advanced, delivering a series of thrusts and swings that Ingvar blocked at the last possible moment, looking for an opportunity for a counter strike.

After they had traded a few blows Elsa jumped back, putting some distance between them.

"I see you've learned some lessons from last time", she taunted. Ingvar merely smiled and closed the distance, covering Elsa in a series of hard swings that the blonde blocked and dodged masterfully. One strike glanced off her pauldron and put Ingvar off balance, and Elsa used the opening to jab her elbow into his face. He recoiled and quickly retreated, shaking his head a few times. His helmet had caught the blow, but it had still been delivered with considerable strength.

Elsa tutted. "Always too cocky."

"I'll show you cocky." Ingvar replied, and swiftly advanced again, forcing Elsa into a defensive position. He attacked relentlessly and Elsa, obviously exerted from before, had trouble keeping up. She finally managed to goad him into a mistake when she dodged rather than parried a swing and hit him in the face again with her mailed fist, before coming around and preparing for the killing blow. Ingvar, however, seized the opportunity and grabbed her flying braid, giving a hard yank and forcing her to the ground with a pained yelp. Her sword went flying from her hand and he thrust his weapon down, stopping only a hair's breadth from driving the tip into her eye.

Before Anna knew what was happening she was already halfway across the open space separating the two combatants from the circle of onlookers. She self-consciously lowered her outstretched hand and gave and awkward cough. "A very...apt demonstration, Ser Ingvar. I've never seen someone being bested in quite such a _spectacular_ fashion."

Ingvar, panting heavily, withdrew the sword still hovering over Elsa's face and dipped into a bow. "You are most gracious, your Majesty." He held out his hand to a still very rattled Elsa, who took it after a few moments and got back on her feet.

"Well, I guess you got your payback for last time." Elsa said while dusting herself off, and Anna was close enough to see the faint shaking of her hands. She shivered suddenly, and noticed the goosebumps on her arms. She could have sworn she saw her breath fog, but the weird sensation disappeared as quickly as it had come. Shaking her head briefly she leveled a concerned gaze at Elsa.

"Are you alright, Ser?" she asked, conscious to keep her voice low enough as not to be overheard by the slowly dispersing group of guards.

Elsa's head snapped up in surprise, clearly having not expected to be addressed by her queen.

"I, uh, yes, your Majesty. Thank you for your concern, but it is unwarranted. It is good to be brought back down to earth every now and again, to remember to treat every fight with the seriousness it deserves." She paused briefly before chuckling. "Though I could have done without being _literally_ brought down to earth."

Anna smiled, relieved that Elsa was fine, and that there seemed to be no bad blood between her and Ingvar. It was only after a few moments that Anna realized that she was dreamily staring at her blonde knight, and quickly averted her gaze.

 _'Wait, dreamily?!'_

The heat returned instantly to her face and she wished she would have just stayed inside and read a good book. Had she looked up, she would have seen Elsa trying to hide an equally fierce blush.

"I, ah, I think I should...go? Go to my quarters, yes" Elsa stuttered. "Go to my quarters and relax. Have a bath. Or...something. Um. By your leave, your Majesty?"

Anna blushed even more when she imagined Elsa in a bathtub and had to use all of her willpower not to groan a string of indistinguishable syllables.

"Yes, yes of course! Have fun with your bath!"

Her eyes widened and she physically slapped her hands over her mouth.

"That was...I mean...I, ah, I'll see you?" she managed to mumble between her fingers and swiftly turned around, almost running back to the castle, hoping against all odds that she would wake up any moment now.

* * *

Anna stood in front of Elsa's door, hand poised to knock. And yet, it didn't.

Over an hour had passed since the 'incident' on the training grounds, more than enough time to cool down at least a little, and realize she had behaved like an ass. She owed Elsa at least an apology. And yet, for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to knock. The vivid imaginations of Elsa lying in a bathtub, showing off wet andbare skin, were still very much burned into her mind. Anna was afraid that if she talked to Elsa now she would make even more of a fool of herself. But she should still apologize.

With a determined nod of her head she grabbed the door handle and yanked it open, but the words she was about the speak died in her throat. She had forgotten to knock.

Before her stood Elsa, eyes wide and her arms crossed before her chest. Her _naked_ chest. Her hair was still wet and she had obviously been in the process of getting changed after her bath. Anna was sure the color of her face was matching Elsa's beet-red shade, while she openly gaped at the knight.

Elsa was at an impasse. She knew deliberately turning your back to a ruling monarch was a grave insult, but standing there naked from the waist up was probably not much better. Her shame won out after a few seconds and she whirled around.

"Di-did y-you need something, your Majesty?" she managed to stammer out with a quiver in her voice.

The question seemed to startle the queen from her trance and she also turned around, completely mortified.

"I'm sorry!" she almost shouted, more blood rushing to her face than she had ever thought possible. "Ahem, I meant to say that I came to...apologize." she continued more evenly, but trailed off lamely.

After a brief moment of silence, only broken by the sound of rustling clothes, Elsa spoke up: "What for, your Majesty?"

Anna risked a peek over her shoulder and was relieved to see that her knight had pulled on a shirt, though inside out. Why she even noted that little detail was completely beyond her, but she turned around to face Elsa once again, anyway. Or would have, if her eyes wouldn't have been glued to her feet.

"For, er, for my behavior earlier. On the training grounds. My comments were highly inappropriate and I humbly beg your forgiveness for any offense I may have given."

To her surprise she heard the blonde actually chuckle. She looked up and saw the tiniest hint of a smile on her lips.

"There is nothing to forgive, your Majesty. We are all just human, after all, no?"

"You are most gracious, Ser." Anna replied, not quite managing to hide the relief in her voice. Truth be told, she had been afraid she had irreparably damaged the budding friendship between the two of them – and she desperately longed for someone else who saw _her_ first, and the crown second. Why she thought that Elsa, of all people, would be that person, was a puzzle for another day, though. For now, she was intent on just leaving without making a fool of herself, _again_.

"I'll leave you to it, then, if you don't need anything else?" she finally said, after she had caught herself staring _just a little bit_ at the knight's exposed neck.

Elsa smiled and nodded her head. "By your leave, your Majesty."

* * *

Elsa was just a little out of it after the queen had left. Their conversation had been highly confusing, and she had no idea how to deal with the slew of emotions assailing her in its aftermath. There was embarrassment, sure, but not as much as she would've thought there would be. Instead, there was something else, though she just couldn't put a word to it. Almost like she was curious about something, but she didn't know what. Feelings were already difficult to deal with for her, and this situation threatened to completely overwhelm her. So she did what Lothar had taught her all those years ago.

Breathe in.

 _1_

 _2_

 _3_

Breathe out.

 _1_

 _2_

 _3_

Breathe in.

 _1_

 _2_

 _3_

Breathe out.

And ever so slowly, her racing thoughts decelerated, until she was able to pick them apart one by one, until she realized what that peculiar feeling actually was. She felt the immense heat radiating from her face as she finally figured it out, and collapsed onto her bed with a groan.

Her _, really? Fuck me, I'm in a world of trouble._

* * *

 **heya. It's me again. (Almost) as promised in the brief update earlier. I hope you all had fulfilling holidays and a great start into the new year. thank you for everyone who stuck with this fic through over a year of inactivity, and to anyone new dropping in: next chapter's gonna take just as long! (just kidding...i hope ._.)  
**

 **Anyway, we're very light on the explanations today, just one thing (yay!)**

 **I took some great creative liberty when I wrote the scene on the training grounds, specifically what elsa says about halberds and not having enough space. halberds where actually thrusting weapons, essentially very ( _very!_ ) long spears, and when used in formation they were devastatingly effective at securing tight places like hallways. They were the main infantry weapon basically all throughout the medieval and long into the renaissance eras with some iterations (over time they shrunk or outright dropped the blade and morphed into pikes, although both weapons were used in the same way) . In open battle they were used in very tight formations by heavily armored, professional soldiers. They would stand several ranks deep and constantly thrust at the enemy, and once such a formation gained momentum they would often literally overrun the enemy. In german those formations are called _'Gewalthaufen'_ , which can be loosely translated as 'forceful mass' (it literally means _violence-heap_...german, ikr?)**

 **so anyway. That's that**

 **again, sorry about the delay, though considering the last actual update was over a year ago, two weeks late isn't that much, right?**

 **alright, i'll stop my rambling here. have a nice day everyone :)**

 **peace out**


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